WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team is back on the ice after a lengthy holiday break Friday, as the Cardinals host UW-Eau Claire in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-6-0 Overall)
vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (5-5-2 Overall)

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

Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since Dec. 1, when St. Olaf handed SMU a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena. The Oles had opened the two-game conference series vs. SMU with a 5-3 victory in Northfield, Minn., on Nov. 30. … UW-Eau Claire, meanwhile, is also coming off a lengthy layoff, having not played since sweeping Marian 3-2 and 4-1 in Fond du Lac, Wis., on Dec. 8-9.

SMU vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
January 6, 2012: SMU coach Terry Mannor isn't psychic, but prior to the Cardinals' nonconference against UW-Eau Claire, he did predict it would be a nailbiter. How right he was. Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored two minutes into the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Blugolds at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis.
January 7, 2012: SMU and UW-Eau Claire women's have battled to a split in their last three two-game nonconference series. And the trend continues, as the Blugolds scored the game's final two goals in handing SMU a 3-1 setback at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The same two teams take to the ice again on Saturday — this time at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis. — as UW-Eau Claire hosts the Cardinals in a 3 p.m. nonconference contest.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Six of the Cardinals' last seven games have been decided by two goals or less. … The Cardinals and Blugolds have split their two-game nonconference series in each of the last four seasons. … The Cardinals enter Friday's game against UW-Eau Claire looking to snap a season-high five-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 in its 5-3 loss to St. Olaf on Nov. 30, while Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) accounted for the Cardinals' lone tally in their 3-1 setback vs. the Oles on Dec. 1. … Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) picked up her team-leading sixth assist of the season against the Oles on Nov. 30. … Peterson's goal vs. St. Olaf on Dec. 1 was her team-leading fifth of the season. She also leads the team in points with eight, one more than 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 21 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 on Nov. 30. … 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, posted 26 saves in SMU's rematch with St. Olaf on Dec. 1 and owns a 2.52 GAA and a .911 save percentage in four 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 four 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 UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With their sweep of Marian on Dec. 8-9, the Blugolds pushed their winning streak to four straight and their unbeaten string to six (4-0-2). … UW-Eau Claire has not lost since falling to Adrian 3-2 on Nov. 10. … Seven of the Blugolds' last eight games have been decided by one goal or less — the lone exception a 6-1 win over Marian on Dec. 10. … This weekend's games against Saint Mary's are the third and fourth contests against MIAC foes this season. UW-EC fell twice to Bethel — 7-0 and 4-1 — to open the season. … Ashley Baugher, Sam Knutson and Amanda Kane accounted for UW-EC's three goals in its 3-2 win over Marian on Dec. 9, while Emily Larson scored two goals in the rematch on Dec. 10 and Kane scored her second goal in as many days. … Kim Van Brunt started both games vs. Marian in goal for the Blugolds, stopping 30 of the 34 shots she faced in the two games. … Larson enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's owning a team-best four goals — one more than Knutson, Nikki Kothenbeutel and Dani Kerr — while also leading the team in assists (4) and points (7). … UW-Eau Claire's 26 goals have come from 12 different players, while 15 of the team's 17 players have recorded at least one point. … The Blugolds have used three different goalies — Van Brunt, Paige Turner and Mara Stormer — through the season's first 12 games. Van Brunt owns a team-best 1.72 goals-against-average in two starts, while Turner has a 3.05 GAA and a team-leading .910 save percentage in eight starts. … UW-Eau Claire has been outscored 14-8 in the second period and 15-10 in the third. … The Blugolds are unbeaten when scoring first (4-0-2), but have won just once when their opponent nets the game's first goal (1-5-0). … UW-Eau Claire has played three overtime games this season, going 1-0-2. UW-EC beat St. Norbert 3-2 in overtime on Dec. 2, and battled UW-River Falls to back-to-back ties on Nov. 16-17.