WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team welcomes St. Norbert to town on Friday, as the Cardinals kick off their home season with a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the Green Knights at the SMU Ice Arena.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-1 Overall)
vs. St. Norbert Green Knights (1-0-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off an 0-1-1 showing in their season-opening nonconference series at Lake Forest last weekend. SMU and the Foresters skated to a 2-2 in their season opener last Friday, with Lake Forest winning the Saturday rematch 3-0. … St. Norbert, meanwhile, kicked off its season last Sunday, shutting out Saint Benedict 3-0 in Superior, Wis.

SMU vs. St. Norbert — Their Last Meeting:
October 30, 2010: A day after freshmen Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) accounted for three of SMU's five goals in a 5-0 win over Marian, Kara Cole (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) netted her first collegiate goal in helping the Cardinals to a 2-1 nonconference win over St. Norbert in DePere, Wis.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, as they host Concordia-WI in a 2 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena. … St. Norbert is also back on the ice Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 2 p.m. nonconference contest against Gustavus.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | Media Guide
Last Friday's 2-2 tie against Lake Forest marked the first time the Cardinals have opened a season with a tie since battling UW-River Falls to a 2-2 deadlock to kick off the 2006-07 season. … Friday's 2-2 tie with the Foresters was the fourth tie in the last five overtime games for the Cardinals, who were 1-0-3 in OT games a year ago. … The Cardinals got goals from Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) in their season-opening tie against Lake Forest last Friday. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.), meanwhile, assisted on both SMU goals Friday evening. … Coolsaet was the team's goal-scoring leader a year ago, netting 11 goals — the most by an SMU freshman since Melissa Mondo netted 15 in her 2003-04 freshman campaign. … Coolsaet recorded at least one point in 12 of the team's 25 games, and recorded her first collegiate hat trick in SMU's 5-2 win over Concordia on Nov. 13. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) played both games in goal vs. Lake Forest last weekend, stopping 59 shots. The sophomore enters Friday's game against St. Norbert with a 2.43 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage. … The Cardinals scored both of their goals last weekend in the second period, while Lake Forest netted four of its five goals in the middle period. … The Cardinals closed out the 2010-11 season with 11 wins, marking the second straight season — and 10th time in the program's history — that SMU has won 10 or more games in a season.

St. Norbert Green Knights News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight nonconference  contests against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams. The Green Knights opened with a 3-0 win over Saint Benedict last Sunday, and travel to Gustavus for a 2 p.m. game against the Gusties Saturday. … SNC will also play MIAC foes Hamline and St. Catherine at home on Jan. 6-7. … The Green Knights' got goals from Katie Conlon, Jade Popescul and Andrea Senne in their 3-0 win over Saint Benedict last Sunday. … Karissa Anderson, Tarraneh Dadgar, Laurel Hill and Zoe Kurth were all credited with assists vs. the Blazers and join Conlon, Popescul and Senne with one point apiece. … Katie Aluia stopped all 13 shots she faced in posting the shutout vs. CSB Sunday. … Two of the Green Knights' three goals vs. Saint Benedict came in the third period. … The Green Knights return 21 players from last year's squad, which finished 12-11-4 in its first season as a varsity program. … The Green Knights were picked to finish fourth in the NCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll.