WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns to its home ice on Saturday, as the Cardinals host St. Olaf in the second game of their MIAC series. Puck drops at 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3-0 MIAC | 3-5-0 Overall)
vs. St. Olaf Oles (2-2-1 MIAC | 4-4-2 Overall)

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

Last Night:
St. Olaf scored three goals in the first period, then held off a late SMU rally in handing the Cardinals a 5-3 MIAC setback at the Northfield Ice Arena.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
December 2, 2011: SMU got off to an amazing start in its MIAC game against St. Olaf, as the Cardinals erupted four first-period goals against St. Olaf at SMU Ice Arena. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their offense went into hibernation over the final 40 minutes, as the Oles played the part of the comeback kids, scoring four unanswered goals — including the final one in overtime — to hand SMU a 5-4 setback.
December 3, 2011: In a span of 17 seconds, SMU went from a 0-0 tie to staring a 2-0 deficit, as St. Olaf used that 17-second, two-goal burst to hand the Cardinals a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Northfield Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are now off until Jan. 4-5, when they play back-to-back nonconference games against UW-Eau Claire. SMU hosts the Blugolds in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena on Jan. 4, then head to Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., for a 3 p.m. rematch on Jan. 5. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, is also done until after the Christmas holiday, not playing until Jan. 4, when they host St. Scholastica in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference contest at the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Friday's game against St. Olaf was the third straight road game for the Cardinals, who close out the 2012 portion of their schedule with Saturday's MIAC rematch with the Oles at the SMU Ice Arena. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's second game of the two-game conference series looking to snap a season-high four-game losing streak. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.), Rory Petrisin (High Bridge, N.J.) and Lauren Borkowski (St. Charles, Minn.) accounted for SMU's three goals against St. Olaf Friday night. … Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) picked up her team-leading sixth assist of the season against the Oles Friday night. … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) enters Saturday's game vs. St. Olaf leading the team in goals (4), while sharing the team lead in points (7) with Klimek. … Two of Peterson's four goals this season have been shorthanded — which is tied for the top spot in all of NCAA Division III. … SMU's 20 goals have come from 11 different players, including collegiate firsts from Petrisin, Klimek, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Minn.), McKenna Parent (Ham Lake, Minn.) and Katie Ehlenfeldt (Beaver Dam, Wis.). … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) — who stopped a season-high 34 shots against Hamline on Nov. 9 — made 17 saves against St. Olaf Friday night. … Gustafson has stopped 125 shots in five starts this season, and owns a 3.42 goals-against-average and an .880 save percentage. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.), meanwhile, enters Saturday's game vs. St. Olaf with a 2.67 GAA and a .905 save percentage in three starts in goal. … Herrmann made 20 saves against Concordia-Wis. on Oct. 27 en route to her first collegiate win, and added a career-best 31-save effort against Hamline on Nov. 10. … After not allowing a single first-period goal in their first five games combined, the Cardinals have surrendered seven goals in the opening 20 minutes in their last three games. … SMU's 2-1 overtime win over Hamline on Nov. 9 snapped its eight-game overtime winless streak — it was the Cardinals' first OT win since beating St. Thomas 2-1 on Jan. 29, 2011. … The Cardinals played eight overtime games a year ago, going 0-2-6. The six ties were a school record.

Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Friday's game against Saint Mary's was the final home game of the 2012 portion of their schedule for the Oles. … Margot Fleming and Nicole Stumpf each scored two goals against the Cardinals on Friday, while Stumpf also had an assist for a three-point night. … Fleming has now scored three goals in the Oles' last two games, and enters Saturday's rematch vs. Saint Mary's with a team-leading seven goals. … Fleming, Stumpf and Kira Clunis have accounted for 16 of the Oles' 23 goals this season. … Fleming also leads the team in points (12), and shares the team lead in assists (5) with Alison Umland. … Ali McKeever and Sam Ubl have shared the goaltending duties for St. Olaf this season, with McKeever stopping 179 of the 192 shots she's faced for a 2.40 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage, while Ubl — who made 31 saves in Friday's 5-3 St. Olaf win — has made 132 saves and carries a 2.54 GAA and a .917 save percentage into Saturday's game vs. SMU. … St. Olaf has scored the game's first goal in eight of its 10 games this season, going 4-2-2. The Oles are winless (0-2-0) when their opponent scores first. … St. Olaf has played two overtime games, with both ending in ties — 1-1 vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 3 and 2-2 vs. Hamline on Nov. 16. … All four of St. Olaf's wins have been by two goals — 2-0 vs. UW-Stevens Point, 3-1 vs. Bethel, 3-1 vs. Hamline and 5-3 vs. Saint Mary's. … UW-River Falls' six goals in the Falcons' 6-1 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 20 were the most allowed by the Oles this season.