WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team continues its quest for an MIAC title Friday, hosting Saint Benedict in the first of two games at the SMU Ice Arena. Game time is set for 7 p.m.





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-2-3 MIAC / 10-6-3 Overall)
Saint Benedict Blazers (2-7-3 MIAC / 3-13-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up a pair of convincing wins over Augsburg last weekend. SMU got a pair of goals from Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and an 11-save effort from Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) in a 5-0 win on Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, then followed that up with a 3-1 win in the rematch in Minneapolis, Minn. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, split its two conference games against Hamline last weekend, winning 3-1 in St. Cloud, Minn., on Friday, then falling by the same 3-1 score the following day in St. Paul, Minn.

A Year Ago:
February 12, 2010: SMU erupted for four third-period goals — including the game-winner from Katie Cachey with less than six minutes remaining in regulation — to beat the Blazers 4-3 in an MIAC contest in St. Cloud, Minn.

February 13, 2010: Erin Stenseth's (Eau Claire, Wis.) goal at 16:31 of the first period was the game's only scoring, as SMU completed a key conference sweep with a 1-0 victory.

Up Next:
The Cardinals host the Blazers in the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday. Puck drops at 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals enter tonight's game against Saint Benedict tied for second place in the MIAC standings, just one point behind league-leading Gustavus. … With their 3-1 win over Augsburg last Saturday, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three straight. … SMU has also won four of its last five games. … Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) scored three goals against the Auggies last weekend — including two in Friday's 5-0 victory — while Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Point, Mich.) scored once in each game. … Dana Kreuser (Maplewood, Minn.), Lauren Borkowski (Winona, Minn.) and Brooke Bartelt (New Prague, Minn.) also scored vs. the Auggies last weekend. … The goals were the first of their collegiate career for Borkowski and Bartelt. … Coolsaet's goals pushed her team-leading total to nine. … With her three goals last weekend, Olson has now scored seven goals in the Cardinals' last eight games. Her eight goals are second to Coolsaet, while Olson leads the team with 10 assists and 18 points. … SMU boasts three players — Olson (18), Coolsaet (13) and Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis. / 13) — with 10 or more points. … Stenseth leads the team with three game-winning goals — including the OT game-winner in SMU's 2-1 victory over St. Thomas on Jan. 29. … Twenty-one of the Cardinals' 47 goals this season have come from freshmen. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped all 11 shots she faced against Augsburg Friday en route to her second shutout of the season. … Fellow goalie Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.), meanwhile, stopped 15 of the 16 shots she faced in Saturday's 3-1 SMU victory. … Gustafson enters this weekend's games vs. Saint Benedict with a team-leading 1.67 goals-against-average and a team-best .950 save percentage. Fellow goalie Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.), meanwhile, has a team-high six wins, while compiling a 1.89 GAA and a .926 save percentage. … SMU has scored first in 11 of its 19 games, going 10-0-1. SMU is 0-6-2 when its opponent scores first. … SMU's 5-0 win vs. Augsburg was the Cardinals' first Friday conference win of the season. … The Cardinals opened the season with three straight wins. SMU's 3-0-0 start was its first since going 4-0-0 to open the 1999-2000 season — the program's second year of existence | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Saint Benedict Blazers News and Notes:
The Blazers 3-1 win over Hamline on Friday snapped their season-high six-game losing streak. CSB enters the weekend with just one win in their last eight games. … Saint Benedict was outscored 30-7 during its six-game slide. … The Blazers have been held to two goals or less in all 11 of their losses this season. … CSB has won just once on its home ice (1-7-1), while going 2-4-2 on the road. … Saint Benedict's four goals vs. Hamline last weekend were scored by four different players — Gretchen Leyendecker, Kerri Graske and Ashley Olson scored in Friday's 3-1 win, while Catherine Pollock netted CSB's lone goal in Saturday's rematch. … Graske's goal was her team-leading fifth of the season. The junior forward also leads the team with eight points, while Holly Reinking leads the squad with five assists. … Kaitlyn Rolando and Abbie Helminen have shared the goaltending duties, with each goalie appearing in 10 games. Rolando owns a 3.04 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage, with Helminen adding a 3.20 GAA and a .902 save percentage. … Saint Benedict has scored just five goals in the third period this season, and have been outscored 23-5 in the game's final 20 minutes. … CSB has scored first in nine of its 17 games, going 3-5-1. The Blazers are winless (0-6-2) when their opponent scores first | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics