NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to the Northfield Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. game against St. Olaf.



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

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Last Action:
St. Scholastica scored with three minutes left in the second period to break a 1-1 tie and the Saints made that one-goal lead hold up in beating SMU 2-1 on Nov. 20 in Hastings, Minn. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, also dropped a nonconference decision in its last action, falling to UW-River Falls 6-1 on Nov. 20 in River Falls, Wis.

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 and Oles will square off again on Saturday, as SMU hosts St. Olaf in a 2 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Friday game against St. Olaf is 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 Friday's game looking to snap a season-high three-game losing streak. … SMU's 2-1 loss to St. Scholastica on Nov. 20 marked the fourth time in SMU's last five games that the outcome has been decided by one goal. … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) scored her team-leading fourth goal of the season against St. Scholastica. … Two of Peterson's four goals this season have been shorthanded — which is tied for the top spot in all of NCAA Division III. … Peterson also leads the team in points (7), one more than Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.), who is also the team-leader in assists with five. … SMU's 17 goals have come from 10 different players, including collegiate firsts from Klimek, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Minn.), McKenna Parent (Ham Lake, Minn.), Katie Ehlenfeldt (Beaver Dam, Wis.) and Rory Petrisin (High Bridge, N.J.). … Both of Haley Coolsaet's goals this season came in the Cardinals' 4-1 win over Concordia-Wis. on Oct. 27. It was the fourth multiple-goal game of her collegiate career. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) — who stopped a season-high 34 shots against Hamline on Nov. 9 — made 27 saves against St. Scholastica on Nov. 20. … Gustafson has stopped 108 shots in four starts this season, and owns a 3.00 goals-against-average and a .900 save percentage. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.), meanwhile, enters Friday'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 four goals in the opening 20 minutes in their last two 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 is the final home game of the 2012 portion of their schedule for the Oles. … Margot Fleming scored St. Olaf's lone goal in its 6-1 nonconference loss to UW-River Falls on Nov. 20. … Fleming's goal was her team-leading fifth of the season. … Fleming, Nicole Stumpf (4) and Kira Clunis (3) have accounted for 12 of the Oles' 18 goals through nine games. … Fleming also leads the team in points (10), 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 has made 101 saves and carries a 2.41 GAA and a .918 save percentage into Friday's game vs. SMU. … St. Olaf has scored the game's first goal in seven of its nine games this season, going 3-2-2. 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 three of St. Olaf's wins have been by two goals — 2-0 vs. UW-Stevens Point, 3-1 vs. Bethel and 3-1 vs. Hamline. … 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.