WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team hits the ice on Friday, hosting St. Olaf in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Ice Arena. Puck drops at 7 p.m.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1-2 MIAC | 2-3-3 Overall)
vs. St. Olaf Oles (2-1-1 MIAC | 2-3-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since Nov. 18-19, when SMU squared off against St. Catherine in a two-game MIAC series. SMU and SCU skated to a 2-2 tie on Nov. 18 in Minneapolis Minn., while the Wildcats handed the Cardinals a 3-1 setback in the rematch a day later at the SMU Ice Arena. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, stepped out of conference play on Nov. 22, falling to nationally ranked UW-River Falls 3-2 in overtime in River Falls, Wis.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
January 15, 2011: St. Olaf jumped out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 5-1 nonconference setback at the SMU Ice Arena. Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) netted SMU's lone goal against the Oles.
February 25, 2011: St. Olaf outscored SMU 2-1 in the third period in handing Saint Mary's a 2-1 conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena.
February 26, 2011: Trailing 2-1 and needing to win for any shot at an MIAC playoff berth, the Cardinals surrendered a pair of third-period goals in falling to St. Olaf 4-2 in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Oles square off again on Saturday, as SMU travels to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Oles.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
The Cardinals' 3-1 loss to St Catherine on Nov. 19 was their first conference loss of the season, while also snapping SMU's three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2). … SMU enters Friday's game against St. Olaf 2-2-2 in its last six contests. … Both of SMU's wins this season have come on the Cardinals' home ice — while their lone loss and all three ties have come on the road. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. St. Catherine on Nov. 18 was its third tie of the season. The Cardinals have now played to a tie six times over the past two seasons. … SMU is now 1-0-6 in its last seven overtime games. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) scored both of SMU's goals against St. Catherine on Nov. 18, while Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) netted the Cardinals' lone tally in the teams' rematch a day later. … DeBartolo's goal was the first of her collegiate career. … With her two goals vs. St. Catherine, Coolsaet moves into a tie for the team lead in goals (3) with Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.). … Olson — who has led the team in scoring in each of the last two seasons — and Peterson also share the team lead in assists (3) and points (6). … Olson recorded her first collegiate hat trick and her first collegiate five-point game in SMU's 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.), who kicked out all 21 shots she faced in recording her first shutout of the season — and third of her career — on Nov. 11 vs. Hamline, finished with 47 saves in SMU's two games vs. St. Catherine. … Gustafson boasts a 1.95 goals-against-average and a .929 save percentage. … SMU has surrendered the first goal of the game in five of their eight games this season. … The Cardinals are 1-14-2 in the last 17 games in which their opponent scores first — the lone victory being their 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Twelve of the 18 goals allowed by SMU this season have come in the second period. … SMU's 2-2, season-opening tie against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 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.

St. Olaf Oles News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
St. Olaf's 3-2 overtime loss to UW-River Falls on Nov. 22 was the Oles' fourth overtime game of the season — and first that didn't end in a tie. … The Oles' loss to UW-River Falls also snapped their three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1). … STO has scored two goals or more in six of its eight games this season — including a season-high four goals in a 4-4 tie against Concordia on Nov. 12. … Sam Ubl stopped a season-high 46 shots in the Oles' overtime loss to fifth-ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 22. … Margot Fleming and Taylor Orr scored the Oles' two goals vs. the Falcons. … Orr's goal against UW-River Falls was her team-leading fourth of the season, while Nicole Stumpf and Kira Clunis are tied for second with three goals each. … Stumpf also leads the team in assists (5) and points (8). … Ubl and Ali McKeever have shared the goaltending duties this season, with McKeever compiling a 2.43 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage in five games, while Ubl owns a 2.67 GAA and a .924 save percentage in four games. … The Oles have outscored their opponents 7-4 in the second period. … St. Olaf is unbeaten when scoring the game's first goal (1-0-1), but just 1-3-2 when its opponent scores first.