SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team crosses the river Saturday evening, as the Cardinals head to UW-Superior for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the ninth-ranked Yellowjackets


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-3-0 Overall)
at UW-Superior Yellowjackts (1-1-1 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals surrendered three second-period goals, as St. Scholastica handed SMU a 4-2 nonconference setback Friday evening in Duluth, Minn. … UW-Superior, meanwhile, lost a shootout to St. Olaf Friday, falling to the Oles 6-5 in overtime in Superior, Wis.

SMU vs. UW-Superior — Their Last Meeting:
November 1, 2008: After giving up 51 shots and nine goals in their season-opening 9-1 loss to St. Scholastica, the last thing the Cardinals wanted was to face another high-flying offense in their second game of the season. Like UW-Superior's. The Yellowjackets erupted for four goals in both the second and third periods en route to a 10-3 nonocnference victory over SMU at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to the Vadnais Heights Sports Center in Vadnais Heights, Minn., for a 7:15 p.m. game against Hamline. The same two teams will then square off at 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday. … UW-Superior, meanwhile, returns to NCHA play next weekend, traveling to Stevens Point, Wis., for a pair of 7 p.m. contests against UW-Stevens Point.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | Media Guide
Saturday's game against No. 9 UW-Superior is the first of five straight games against nationally ranked teams. SMU squares off against No. 10 Hamline in back-to-back conference contests next weekend, then hosts No. 14 Milwaukee School of Engineering for two games on Nov. 22-23. … The Cardinals scored the game's first goal for the second straight contest Friday evening. … SMU's two goals vs. St. Scholastica were the first of the season for both Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) and Danny Wood (Wilmington, Ohio). … Gorup's first-period tally — SMU's first power-play goal of the season — was his first as a Cardinal. … Wood's second-period goal, meanwhile, was SMU's first short-handed goal of the season. … SMU has now scored two goals in all three of its games this season. … The Cardinals' six goals this season have come from six different players — Gorup, Wood, Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.), Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska), Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.) and Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.). … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) made 24 saves against the Saints Friday and has now stopped 59 of the 66 shots he's faced this season. … Fellow goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) owns a team-leading 3.03 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage, while Scheib enters Saturday's game with a 3.56 GAA and an .894 save percentage. … The Cardinals' two losses last weekend at the MIAC Hockey Showcase were both decided by 3-2 decisions. … With the two one-goal losses, SMU has now had 14 of its last 27 games decided by one goal or less. … Four of the six goals allowed by the Cardinals last weekend came in the third period — including all three goals scored by St. Olaf in last Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Oles. … SMU scored two of its four goals last weekend in the first period. … Saturday's game at UW-Superior is the fourth of five straight road games for the Cardinals, who don't open their home schedule until Nov. 12 against 2010-11 MIAC playoff champion Hamline.

UW-Superior Yellowjackets News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
UW-Superior suffered its first loss of the season Friday evening with its 6-5 overtime loss to St. Olaf. … St. Olaf's six goals were the most allowed by the Yellowjackets this season. … Five of St. Olaf's six goals vs. UW-Superior came after the first period. UW-Superior entered the locker room after one period leading 2-1. … Bob Roseland scored two of UW-Superior's five goals vs. St. Olaf Friday, while Jeff Forsythe, Tom Budziakowski and Andy Singerhouse accounted for the other three. … Ben Waalkens finished with 20 saves vs. the Oles Friday and enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's with a 3.94 goals-against-average and an .840 save percentage. … The Yellowjackets, who bounced back from a last-place finish in 2009-10 to place second in the NCHA last year, were tabbed to finish second this year in the conference's preseason coaches' poll. … UW-Superior earned a berth in the NCAA Division III national tournament a year ago, falling to Hamline 3-2 in overtime in the opening round. … The Yellowjackets graduated four seniors from last year's team and had four other players decide not to return.