ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team takes to the road on Friday, kicking off its two-game MIAC series against Gustavus with a 7:05 p.m. contest at Don Roberts Ice Arena.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-10-1 MIAC | 4-16-1 Overall)
at Gustavus Gusties (6-5-1 MIAC | 12-6-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of home games to Saint John's last weekend, as the Johnnies opened a 3-1 advantage in beating SMU 3-2 last Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, then jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a third-period Cardinal rally for their second straight 3-2 win on Saturday. … Gustavus, meanwhile, split its conference series with Hamline last weekend, falling 4-0 in Vadnais Heights, Minn., then rebounding for a 4-3 win at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
October 31, 2011: Jimmy Becker scored SMU's lone goal and Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) stopped 33 shots, but the Gusties escaped with a 2-1 nonconference win over the Cardinals at the MIAC Hockey Showcase at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minn.
February, 18, 2011: Saint Mary's, down 2-0 in the first period, scored four times in the second period en route to a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over the Gusties at the SMU Ice Arena.
February, 19, 2011: The Cardinals scored on three of their first five shots, but it was the Gusties who scored last, as Mitch Carlson scored with 2:18 remaining in overtime to lift Gustavus to a 5-4 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over SMU at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The same two teams return to Winona, Minn., on Saturday, as the Cardinals host the Gusties in the second game of the teams' two-game MIAC series at the SMU Ice Arena. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
With Saturday's 3-2 setback vs. Saint John's, the Cardinals have now dropped four straight one-goal games. … SMU has now played 13 games this season that have been decided by one goal or less. … Only two of the Cardinals' 20 games have been decided by more than two goals. … The Cardinals have now been held to two goals in six of their last seven games. … SMU has scored first in five of its last eight games. … Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) and Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) scored SMU's two goals vs. SJU Friday, while Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) and Brad Denney (Fishers, Ind.) accounted for SMU's two goals in the teams' rematch on Saturday. …
SMU had a pair of goal-scoring streak snapped vs. the Johnnies last weekend. Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) was held without a goal vs. the Johnnies Friday, snapping his three-game goal-scoring streak, while Griffiths had his two-game streak ended on Saturday. … Nagel netted his team-leading eighth goal of the season Saturday against the Johnnies.  … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.), who assisted on Fusaro's goal Friday, owns the team lead in assists (9) and points (15). … Balko is one of four players with 10 or more points. Wentland (13), Nagel (12) and Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb. / 10) are the other three. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) stopped a combined 42 shots in two starts against the Johnnies last weekend. … Horstman and Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Horstman owning a 3.34 goals-against-average and an .888 save percentage, while Scheib has a 3.42 GAA and an .895 save percentage. … Scheib kicked out 40 shots against Augsburg on Jan. 28. The 40 saves were a season high and one short of his career-best 41 saves against Gustavus on Feb. 19, 2010. … SMU's four goals vs. Augsburg in the Cardinals' 5-4 overtime loss equaled the Cardinals' highest offensive output of the season. SMU is 1-2 in games in which it has netted four games this season — beating Marian (4-2), while falling to Hamline (5-4) and Augsburg (5-4). Ironically, both of SMU's four-goal losses came in overtime. … SMU's OT game vs. Augsburg on Jan. 28 was the fourth overtime game this season, going 1-2-1. … SMU's 2-1 victory over MSOE on Nov. 22 was the Cardinals' first overtime win since beating UW-River Falls 2-1 on Jan. 17, 2009. … All four of SMU's wins — and their lone tie — have come on their home ice. … Two of the Cardinals' four wins were by identical 2-1 scores — a 2-1 win over MSOE on Nov. 22 and a 2-1 victory over St. Olaf on Dec. 3. … SMU's 3-2 win over sixth-ranked and defending national champion St. Norbert on Jan. 6 was the Cardinals' second win over a nationally ranked team this season. SMU downed then-eighth ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 22. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. Bethel on Jan. 21 was the Cardinals' first tie of the season. … SMU's Dec. 3 win over St. Olaf marked the first time this season SMU has won when its opponent scored the game's first goal (1-9-1).

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With their 4-3 win over Hamline on Saturday, Gustavus has now gone 2-1-1 in its last four games. … The Gusties, who had their season-high eight-game winning streak snapped with a 4-3 loss to Saint John's on Jan. 14, are 10-2-1 in their last 13 games. … GAC's 4-0 loss to Hamline on Friday marked the first time this season the Gusties have been shut out. … The Pipers' four goals also equaled the most allowed by Gustavus this season. In fact, GAC has surrendered four goals in three of its last five games. … Gustavus has played five overtime games this season, going 1-1-3. … Adam Smyth, Ryan Johnson, Dane Erickson and Andy Pearson netted Gustavus' four goals vs. Hamline last Saturday. … Pearson's game-winner came with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. … Tyler Venne finished with 24 saves vs. the Pipers last Friday, while John McLean stopped 23 HU shots in Saturday's 4-3 win. … Zach May enters the weekend series against Saint Mary's with a team-leading 10 goals, while Ross Ring-Jarvi is the team-leader in assists (13) and points (21). … Smyth is second to May in goals with nine, while Pearson is second in assists with 12. … Ring-Jarvi is one of seven GAC players with 10 or more points — May (18), Pearson (17), Smyth (13), Ryan Johnson (13), Gustav Bengtson (10) and Erickson (10) are the others. … McLean and Venne have shared the goaltending duties for the Gusties, with McLean owning a 2.07 goals-against-average and a .925 save percentage in 15 starts, while Venne has a 2.88 GAA and a .901 save percentage in six starts. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 18-9 in the first period and 25-19 in the second, but the Gusties have been outscored 20-21 after the second period. … GAC has scored first in 15 of its 21 games, going 10-2-3 when netting the game's first goal. The Gusties are 2-4-0 when their opponent scores first.