VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team heads to the Vadnais Heights Sports Complex for the second game of its two-game MIAC series against Hamline Saturday. Puck drops at 7:15 p.m.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-0 MIAC | 3-2-0 Overall)
vs. Hamline Pipers (0-1-0 MIAC | 0-4-1 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals erupted for five goals in the first period and never looked back, cruising to a 9-2 win over the Pipers in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener Friday at the SMU Ice Arena.

SMU vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
November 11, 2011: Hamline didn't waste any time landing the first punch in its MIAC game against SMU, scoring the game's first goal just 23 seconds into the opening period. The Cardinals countered — again, and again, and again, and again — but each time they landed a punch, the Pipers had an answer, and it was Hamline's 1-2 third-period combination that did SMU in, falling to HU 6-4 at the Vadnais Sports Center.

November 12, 2011: The Cardinals were on top of the world after racing out to a 2-0 first-period lead against the defending conference champions. Unfortunately, it was the Pipers who would score four of the game's final five goals — including the game-winner 43 seconds into overtime, as Hamline handed SMU a heartbreaking 4-3 setback at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are now off until Saturday, Nov. 24, when they square off against Adrian in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game in Adrian, Mich. SMU will then complete its Michigan stay on Sunday, Nov. 25, playing a 2:30 p.m. exhibition game against the U.S. National Development U18 Team at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich. … Hamline, meanwhile, plays its second MIAC series of the season, hosting St. Olaf in a 7:15 p.m. contest at the Vadnais Heights Sports Complex in Vadnais Heights, Minn., on Friday, before heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. rematch on Saturday.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
With their 9-2 win over Hamline on Friday, the Cardinals have now scored 21 goals in their three wins this season. … SMU's nine goals against the Pipers are the most since SMU erupted for 14 goals in a 14-3 win over Concordia during the 2006-07 season. … Friday's game against Hamline was the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who picked up their first win at the SMU Ice Arena with Saturday's 5-2 win over St. Scholastica. … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) and Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) led the goal parade for the Cardinals against Hamline Friday, each scoring two goals, while Nick Gualano (Prospect Heights, Ill.), Andrew Ketterer (Peoria, Ill.), Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.), Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) and Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) accounted for the other five SMU goals. … Gualano's first-period tally was the first of his collegiate career. … The two-goal effort was the second of Balko's season and third of his collegiate career. Balko's other two two-goal games both came against Bethel — in SMU's season-opening 7-2 win on Oct. 27, and on Jan. 21, 2011. … Hill, meanwhile, earned his first two-goal game of his career. … Hill also recorded an assist vs. the Pipers Friday for his first collegiate three-point game. … With his two goals, Balko now leads the team with five goals through five games. … Thompson, who also had an assist vs. the Pipers, leads the team with eight points, while sharing the team's assist lead (4) with Hill, Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) and Wentland. … Thompson has now scored a goal in four of the team's five games. … Balko's first goal against Hamline Friday was shorthanded — after scoring just one shorthanded goal all of last season, SMU has now netted SMU four shorthanded goals this season. … The four shorthanded goals are the most since SMU tallied five shorties during the 2006-07 season. … Scott Deur (Big Rapids, Mich.) owns two of the team's four shorthanded goals — which leads NCAA Division III and is tied for the lead in all of collegiate hockey. … SMU scored two of its four shorthanded goals in its 5-2 win over St. Scholastica on Nov. 3. It was the first time since Nick Meeker and Chad Damerow scored shorthanded goals against UW-Superior on Nov. 21, 2003 that the Cardinals scored two shorthanded goals in the same game. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) recorded his second collegiate two-goal game, and first collegiate three-point game, in SMU's season-opening win over Bethel on Oct. 26. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) stopped 19 shots vs. Hamline Friday, lowering his goals-against-average to 3.19, while pushing his save percentage to .871. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) stopped 15 of the 17 shots he faced against St. Scholastica en route to his first win in his first collegiate start. … Gaffy becomes the first Cardinal goalie to win in his first collegiate start since Curtis Nosal made 25 saves in a 4-1 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 9, 2002. … Hamline was 0-for-4 on the power play Friday. SMU has now killed off 21 straight penalties. …  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. … The Cardinals' 5-2 win over St. Scholastica on Nov. 3 snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the Saints, dating back to a 3-1 SMU win on Jan. 6, 2007. … The Cardinals have scored first in all three of their wins, while SMU's opponents have netted the first goal in both of the Cardinals' losses.

Scouting the Hamline Pipers:
2012 Roster | 2012 Statistics | 2012 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Pipers, who play four of their next five contests on their home ice. … The Pipers enter Saturday's conference game against Saint Mary's still looking for its first win of the season, having gone 0-1-1 at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase, then dropping back-to-back games vs. UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls last weekend and Friday's 9-2 loss to the Cardinals … After being shut out in their season-opening 2-0 loss to Gustavus, Hamline has scored 13 goals in its last four games. During that same span, however, the Pipers have surrendered 23 goals — including a season-high nine against SMU Friday. … Joe Rubbelke and Brandon Zurn scored HU's two goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday, while Nick Widing had a pair of assists. … Rubbelke, who shares the team lead in goals (3) with Widing, has now scored in back-to-back games. … Rubbelke leads the team with seven points, while sharing the team's assist lead (4) with Zurn. … Hamline has surrendered the game's first goal in four of its five games this season. … Hamline, which finished fifth in the conference standings a year ago, graduated four players — including First-Team All-MIAC?selections Brian Arrigoni, Beau Christian and Jordan VanGilder. … Arrigoni, named to the All-MIAC?team for the third straight year, led the Pipers with 14 goals and shared the team lead in points (28) with VanGilder. VanGilder boasted a team-best 17 assists, while Christian capped a stellar season with his third straight All-MIAC?selection, after compiling a 2.84 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage.