WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team is back on its home ice on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Scholastica in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2-0- Overall)
vs. St. Scholastica Saints (1-2-0 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats/Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals surrendered three goals in the game's first seven minutes in falling to UW-Superior 3-1 Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena. … St. Scholastica, meanwhile, gave up single goals in the first and second periods in dropping a 2-1 nonconference decision to St. Olaf in Northfield, Minn., Friday.

SMU vs. St. Scholastica — Their Last Meeting:
November 4, 2011: There were plenty of firsts for the Cardinals against St. Scholastica. SMU scored the game's first goal — their first power play tally of the season on the first goal as a Cardinal by Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) The Cardinals also netted their first short-handed goal of the season — on Danny Wood's first goal of the year. Unfortunately, when the final horn sounded, there was still one first that eluded coach Bill Moore and the Cardinals — their first win, as the Saints used a three-goal second period to hand SMU a 4-2 nonconference setback..

Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, hosting Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday, then traveling to Vadnais Heights, Minn., and the Vadnais Heights Sports Center for a 7 p.m. rematch with the Pipers on Saturday. … St. Scholastica, meanwhile, returns home for a pair of NCHA games against UW-Eau Claire next weekend. The Saints and Blugolds square off in a pair of 7 p.m. conference games Friday and Saturday at Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Friday's game against UW-Superior was the home opener for the Cardinals, who are in the midst of a three-game homestand. … The Cardinals' 7-2 win over Bethel on Oct. 26 was their first season-opening win since beating Finlandia 9-3 to open the 2002-2003 season. … SMU's seven goals against the Royals were the most since the 2006-2007 season, when the Cardinals scored seven or more goals three times — beating Lake Forest 7-4 and Concordia 14-3 and 7-2. … Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) scored his first goal as a Cardinals Friday to account for SMU's goal against UW-Superior. … Hill becomes the seventh SMU player to score for the Cardinals this season. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa), who scored two goals in SMU's season-opening 7-2 win over Bethel on Oct. 26, enters Saturday's game vs. St. Scholastica sharing the team lead in goals (2) and assists (2), while also leading the team with four points. … Marx recorded his second collegiate two-goal game and first collegiate three-point night vs. Bethel on Oct. 26. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) scored goals in both of SMU's games at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase to share the team's goal-scoring lead with Marx. … After scoring just one shorthanded goal in their 25 games a year ago, SMU scored its first shorthanded goal of the season in their first game against Bethel on Oct. 26. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) made 23 saves against UW-Superior Friday and has now made 55 saves through three games this season. … All three of UW-Superior's goals Friday came in the first period. SMU has surrendered four goals in both the first and third period, while giving up five goals in the game's middle 20 minutes. … On the flip side, the Cardinals have scored three goals in each of the three periods.

Scouting the St. Scholastica Saints:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
The Saints were picked to finish sixth in the NCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll. CSS was picked to finish seventh and last in the league last season and finished second. … CSS' season-opening 5-1 win over UW-Superior last Friday was the first the Saint since 2009. … In the nine goals the Saints scored last weekend against UW-Superior, three were scored by freshmen — Keegan Bruce, Brenden Kotyk and Dylan Nowakowski. … Brett Corcoran, last year's scoring leader, scored a goal in each of the first two games, but had his consecutive-game goal-scoring streak snapped against the Oles Friday. … Paul Marcoux scored St. Scholastica's lone goal Friday. … Collin Rundell made 34 saves against the Oles on Friday, giving the junior 57 saves thus far this season. … CSS scored first in its lone win, and surrendered the game's first goal in both of its losses. … Head coach Mark Wick is in his ninth season behind the bench for St. Scholastica. Wick is the winningest coach in program history and is the reigning NCHA Coach of the Year. … The Saints, along with St. Norbert will be joining the Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association (MCHA) hockey schools after this season.