NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team hits the road for the second game of their two-game MIAC series against St. Olaf on Saturday at the Northfield Ice Arena. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.



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

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Last Night:
The Cardinals got third-period goals from Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska), as SMU held off St. Olaf 7-5 in a wild contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
October 30, 2011: Just a day after giving up the game-winning goal in the final period of a 3-2 loss to St. Thomas, the Cardinals surrendered three unanswered goals in the game's final 20 minutes in falling to St. Olaf 3-2 in the MIAC Hockey Showcase at Fogerty Arena.
December 2, 2011: The Cardinals gave up 24 shots — and three goals — in the game's opening 20 minutes and never recovered, as St. Olaf handed SMU a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Northfield Ice Arena.
December 3, 2011: With the score tied and the clock winding down, Andrew Ketterer (Peoria, Ill.) picked up a loose puck in front of the St. Olaf goal and rifled a shot that whistled past Ole goalie Ben Leis and into the back of the net — with four tenths of a second left in regulation — as the Cardinals beat the Oles 2-1 at the SMU Ice Arena to earn a split in their two-game conference series.

Up Next:
The Cardinals step out of conference play next weekend, as SMU heads to Alumni Memorial Rink in Lake Forest, Ill., for a pair of games against Lake Forest. The two teams will square off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, and then play again Saturday at 4:30 p.m. … St. Olaf, meanwhile, is now off until Jan. 4-5, when the Oles head to UW-Stevens Point and St. Norbert for back-to-back 7 p.m. games.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With Friday's win over St. Olaf, the Cardinals improved to 3-0-0 in conference play for the first time since SMU opened the 1998-99 conference season with three straight wins. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's rematch vs. St. Olaf having won four of their last five games — with the lone setback a 7-3 decision third-ranked Adrian on Nov. 24. … The three-game win streak was the Cardinals' first since beating St. Olaf (nonconference) and sweeping Concordia early in the 2010-11 season. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) each scored two goals against St. Olaf Friday evening. The two-goal effort was the second of Thompson's collegiate career, while it was the first two-goal game for McGlasson. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.), Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) and Dylan Dock (River Falls, Wis.) accounted for SMU's other three goals vs. the Oles. … The goal was the first collegiate tally for Dock — who was playing in his first collegiate game. … Wentland also had a pair of assists Friday, as the senior notched the second three-point game of his career. … Thompson and Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) lead the team in goals (6), while Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) is the team-leader in assists (8) and points (13). … SMU boasts three players with 10 or more points through eight games — Hills (13), Thompson (11) and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa / 10). … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) stopped St. Olaf's Mark Rath on a penalty shot Friday. It was SMU's third straight game with a penalty shot. Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) was stopped on a penalty shot against Adrian on Nov. 24 and Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) scored on a penalty shot vs. Team USA's U18 Team a day later.  Because the game against Team USA's U18 team was an exhibition game, the goal does not officially count. SMU has officially not scored a penalty shot goal since Nov. 2, 2007, when Jesse Polk converted. … SMU's 39 goals have come from 15 different players, while 19 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … After scoring just one shorthanded goal all of last season, SMU has netted four shorthanded goals this season. … The four shorthanded goals are the most since SMU tallied five shorties during the 2006-07 season. … Scheib finished with 21 saves against St. Olaf on Friday to improve to 4-2-0 in six starts this season. … Jason Horstman made 41 saves against Adrian on Nov. 24. It was the seventh time in his four-year collegiate career that the senior has stopped 40 or more shots, and was the most since recording a collegiate-best 52 saves against Gustavus on Feb. 19, 2011. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) stopped 15 of the 17 shots he faced against St. Scholastica on Nov. 3 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. … The Cardinals have scored 34 goals in their five wins this season — including a season-high nine goals in their 9-2 rout of Hamline on Nov. 9. … 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. … The Cardinals have scored first in six of their eight games — including all five of their wins.

Scouting the St. Olaf Oles:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
After putting together a season-high three-game winning streak with a win over Concordia and a sweep of Hamline, the Oles have now lost three straight games. … St. Olaf has now been outscored 22-9 in its four losses this season. … Saint Mary's seven goals on Friday were the most allowed by the Oles this season. On the flip side, St. Olaf's five goals vs. the Cardinals equaled its season high. … St. Olaf's five goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday came from five different players — Dan Cecka, Mark Rath, Ross Trousdale, Marc Richards and Jeff Harris. … Trousdale, Harris, Cecka and Rath all share the team lead in goals with four each. … Joel Lundstrom and Geoff Gieni are the team-leaders in assists (4), while Trousdale, Harris and Cecka all have a team-best seven points. … Steve Papciak — who had 24 saves against the Cardinals Friday — and Henrik Wood have shared the goaltending duties all season. Wood has compiled a 1.77 goals-against-average and a .905 save percentage in five games, while Papciak is close behind with a 3.02 GAA and a .935 save percentage. … The Oles have outscored their opponents 19-13 in the first two periods combined, but have been outscored 15-5 after the second period. … St. Olaf is 4-1-0 when scoring first, but the Oles have yet to win a game when their opponent nets the game's first goal (0-5-1).