WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its home schedule on Saturday, squaring off against Gustavus in the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-10-2 MIAC | 4-16-2 Overall)
at Gustavus Gusties (6-5-2 MIAC | 12-6-4 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals got a pair of goals from Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) in the third period, as SMU rallied from a two-goal deficit twice in earning a 4-4 conference tie with the Gusties at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.

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 Cardinals close out their 2011-2012 season on the road next weekend, traveling to Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of conference games against Concordia. The Cardinals and Cobbers square off on Friday at 7 p.m., then meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. Both games will be played at the Moorhead Sports Center. … Gustavus, meanwhile, puts the finishing touches on its regular-season schedule next weekend against St. Olaf. The Gusties travel to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday, then return to the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for Saturday's 7:05 p.m. rematch.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Saturday's game against Gustavus is the final home game for SMU seniors Nate Peterson (Cadillac, Mich.), Joey Nadeau (Winona, Minn.), Vincent Unklesbay (Maplewood, Minn.) and Tom Healy (Rolling Meadows, Ill.). … With Friday's 4-4 tie vs. Gustavus, the Cardinals snapped their six-game losing streak. … Friday's game was the fifth straight game — and 14th time this season — that the game has been decided by one goal or less. … Only two of the Cardinals' 21 games have been decided by more than two goals. … The Cardinals' four goals vs. Gustavus Friday equaled their season high. … SMU has scored four goals four times this season, going 1-2-1 — beating Marian (4-2), while falling to Hamline (6-4) and Augsburg (5-4), and tying Gustavus (4-4). … SMU's OT game vs. Gustavus Friday was the fifth overtime game this season, with the Cardinals going 1-2-2. … 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. … Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) recorded his first two-goal game to account for two of SMU's four goals vs. Gustavus Friday. Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) and Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) netted SMU's other two goals vs. the Gusties. … With his goal Friday, Wentland moved into a tie with Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) for the team lead in goals with eight. … Balko owns the team lead in assists (10) and points (17). … Balko is one of four players with 10 or more points. Wentland (14), Nagel (12) and Gorup (12) are the other three. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) finished with 35 saves against the Gusties on Friday. … Scheib and Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) 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 3.45 GAA and an .894 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. … All four of SMU's wins — and one of their two ties — 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 Dec. 3 win over St. Olaf marked the first time this season SMU has won when its opponent scored the game's first goal (1-9-2).

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With their 4-4 tie vs. Saint Mary's Friday, Gustavus is now 2-1-2 in its last five games. … The Gusties have scored four goals in each of their last two games, having beatien Hamline 4-3 last Saturday. …  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 10-2-2 in their last 14 games. … GAC's 4-0 loss to Hamline on Feb. 3 marked the first time this season the Gusties have been shut out. … The Cardinals' four goals Friday equaled the most allowed by Gustavus this season. In fact, GAC has surrendered four goals in four of its last six games. … Gustavus has now played six overtime games this season, going 1-1-4. … Gustav Bengtson scored two of GAC's four goals Friday, while Adam Smyth and Ilya Kravtchouk accounted for the other two. … Smyth has now scored in back-to-back games. … Smyth and Zach May enter Saturday's game against Saint Mary's with a team-leading 10 goals, while Ross Ring-Jarvi is the team-leader in assists (14) and points (22). … Ring-Jarvi is one of seven GAC players with 10 or more points — May (20), Andy Pearson (17), Smyth (14), Ryan Johnson (13), Bengtson (12) and Dane Erickson (11) are the others. … John McLean and Tyler Venne have shared the goaltending duties for the Gusties, with McLean owning a 2.18 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage in 16 starts, while Venne has a 2.88 GAA and a .901 save percentage in six starts. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 21-10 in the first period and 25-20 in the second, but the Gusties have been outscored 22-21 after the second period. … GAC has scored first in 16 of its 22 games, going 10-2-4 when netting the game's first goal. The Gusties are 2-4-0 when their opponent scores first.