ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to the National Hockey Center for a 7 p.m. MIAC game against Saint John's.





The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7-2 MIAC / 4-15-2 Overall)
vs. Saint John's Johnnies (4-6-2 MIAC / 5-14-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped both of its conference games against Augsburg last weekend. Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) scored a pair of goals in Friday's 4-3 loss in Minneapolis, Minn., while Thompson added his third goal of the weekend in SMU's 5-3 setback at the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday. … Saint John's, meanwhile, collected three of a possible four points from league-leading Hamline last weekend, handing the Pipers their first MIAC loss of the season with a 3-1 win last Thursday in St. Paul, Minn., then came from behind to earn a 3-3 tie on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn.

A Year Ago:
October 31, 2009: The Johnnies scored four unanswered goals — including three straight off the stick of Karl Gilbert — in the first two periods in handing SMU a 4-0 setback during the MIAC Showcase at the Bloomington Ice Gardens.

February 12, 2010: The Cardinals scored early, but it was Saint John's that scored often, as the Johnnies erased an early 1-0 SMU lead with three unanswered goals in handing the Cardinals a 5-2 MIAC setback at the SMU Ice Arena.

February 13, 2010: The Cardinals managed just one shot on goal through the opening 20 minutes — and 18 for the game — and could not put one past SJU goalie Adam Anderson, as the Johnnies completed the MIAC sweep with a 4-0 victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals will once again square off against the Johnnies on Sunday, as the two teams complete their two-game MIAC series with a 2 p.m. contest at the National Hockey Center.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Despite their two losses to Augsburg, the Cardinals are still just two points out of the fifth and final playoff spot. SMU enters the weekend with eight conference points, while Saint John's, Augsburg, St. Olaf and Bethel are all sitting with 10 points with four conference games remaining. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) scored his first two collegiate goals in Friday's 4-3 loss against Augsburg, then added career goal No. 3 the following night. … Thompson became the second SMU player in three weeks to score his first two collegiate goals in the same game. Ryan Griffths (Arvada, Colo.) scored twice vs. Bethel on Jan. 22. … Tom Healy (Rolling Meadows, Ill.) accounted for SMU's other goal vs. the Auggies Friday, and added his fifth of the season on Saturday. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Augsburg. … Wentland — who has now recorded a point in 14 of the team's 21 games — leads the team in all three offensive categories, boasting 11 goals, 10 assists and 21 points. … Wentland's 10 goals are the most since Steve Murphy netted 11 during the 2008-2009 season, while his 21 points are the most since Anthony Bohn compiled 31 points during the 2007-2008 season. … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.), who shares the team lead in assists with Wentland, is second on the team in goals (7) and points (17). … With Thompson's two goals Friday, the Cardinals have now have four players with multiple-goal games — Griffiths, Balko and Wentland are the other three. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) finished with 59 saves against Augsburg last weekend and enters this weekend's games against Saint John's with a on Friday and enters Saturday's rematch with a 4.27 goals-against-average and an .879 save percentage. … SMU's 2-0 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 14 — in which Horstman recorded his first collegiate shutout with 27 saves — was the Cardinals' first shutout since Ryne Ess and Curtis Nosal combined on a 19-save shutout in SMU's 5-0 win over Augsburg on Jan. 24, 2004. It was also just the second SMU shutout in the last decade. … The Cardinals' 51 goals this season have come from 19 different players, while 21 players have at least one point. … SMU has scored three of more goals in six of its last seven games. … With their 4-3 loss at Augsburg Friday, the Cardinals fell to 0-11-1 on the road this season. … Eight of SMU's 15 losses have come against teams that have been nationally ranked. … All four of SMU's wins have come when the Cardinals scored first. SMU is 0-8-0 when its opponent scores first. … With their 5-2 and 2-1 wins over Concordia on Nov. 12-13, the Cardinals posted their first conference sweep since beating the Cobbers twice (14-3, 7-2) during the 2007-2008 season. … With their 3-3 tie against St. Thomas on Jan. 28, the Cardinals snapped an 18-game losing streak against the Tommies. SMU's last win vs. UST was a 6-2 victory on Jan. 18, 2002. … The Cardinals' 2-0 start to the conference schedule was their first since opening the 2001-2002 MIAC season with back-to-back wins over Hamline (5-2, 5-2) | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Saint John's Johnnies News and Notes:
With their win and tie vs. Hamline last weekend, the Johnnies pushed their unbeaten streak to three straight (1-0-2). SJU is 2-1-1 in its last four games. … With Saturday's 3-3 tie vs. Hamline, the Johnnies have now gone into overtime in three of their last four games. SJU lost (3-2) and tied (2-2) Concordia on Jan. 28-29 and tied Hamline (3-3) on Saturday. … James Saintey scored a goal in both games vs. Hamline last weekend, while Alex Lindeberg and Mike Wallgren accounted for SJU's other two goals in last Friday's win over Hamline, while Trent Johnson and Joe Harren also scored in Saturday's 3-3 tie. … Tony Civello stopped 77 shots in the two games vs. Hamline last weekend. Civello enters the weekend series against Saint Mary's with a 2.95 goals-against-averaged and a .909 save percentage. … Harren and Wallgren lead the team with eight goals each, while Harren also boasts a team-best 16 points. … Conor Rooney is the team's assist lead with 10. … The Johnnies boast six players with 10 or more points — Harren (16), Wallgren (15), Rooney (15), Grant Ellena (13), Michael Palmiscno (12) and Tobias Linbro (10. … Ellena was held without a point in last Saturday's tie vs. Hamline, snapping his point streak at four straight games. … SJU has been outscored 22-12 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Johnnies are 3-4-1 when scoring first, but just 2-10-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics