ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its two-game MIAC series against Saint John's on Sunday, squaring off against the Johnnies in a 2 p.m. game at the National Hockey Center.





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

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Last Night:
Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) scored seven minutes into the third period to break a 3-3 tie and lift the Cardinals to a 4-3 victory over Saint John's at the National Hockey Center.

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 close out the regular season next weekend against Gustavus, hosting the Gusties at 7 p.m. on Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, then traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. rematch on Saturday. … Saint John's, meanwhile, also closes out its regular season next weekend, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. conference game against St. Olaf, then host the Oles in a 2 p.m. game the following day at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With their win on Friday, the Cardinals remain just two points out of the fifth and final playoff spot. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) scored his fourth goal in the last three games for the Cardinals on Saturday. Tom Healy (Rolling Meadows, Ill.), Blake Zemaitis (Prospect Heights, Ill.) and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) scored SMU's other three goals vs. Saint John's Saturday. …Zemaitis and Healy each had a goal and an assist vs. SJU Friday. ... Healy has now scored in each of his last three games. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season in SMU's 5-3 loss to Augsburg on Feb. 5. … 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 against Augsburg on Feb. 5, the Cardinals have now have four players with multiple-goal games — Griffiths, Balko and Wentland are the other three. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.), who finished with 30 saves vs. the Johnnies on Friday, enters Saturday's rematch with a 4.20 goals-against-average and an .881 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' 55 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 seven of its last eight games. … Friday's win over Saint John's was SMU's first road win of the season (1-11-1). … Eight of SMU's 15 losses have come against teams that have been nationally ranked. … All five 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:
Friday's loss to Saint Mary's snapped SJU's three-game unbeaten streak. ... SJU is 2-1-2 in its last five games. … With last last Saturday's 3-3 tie vs. Hamline, the Johnnies have now gone into overtime in three of their last five games. SJU lost (3-2) and tied (2-2) Concordia on Jan. 28-29 and tied Hamline (3-3) on Saturday. … Alex Lindeberg, Brent Brodersen and Jasha Pettit accounted for SJU's three goals vs. Saint Mary's on Saturday night. … Tony Civello stopped 21 shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Cardinals. Civello entered the weekend series against Saint Mary's with a 3.03 goals-against-averaged and a .905 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 24-11 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Johnnies are 3-4-1 when scoring first, but just 2-11-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics