MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its 2011-2012 season Saturday, traveling to Concordia for the second of their two-game MIAC series. Puck drops at 2 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-11-2 MIAC | 5-17-2 Overall)
at Concordia Cobbers (5-7-3 MIAC | 9-11-4 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats

Last Night:
The Cardinals got scoring from five different players, as SMU knocked Concordia out of the MIAC playoff picture with a 5-1 conference win at the Moorhead Sports Center.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
November 12, 2010: The Cardinals got their conference slate on the right foot, getting goals from five different players in handing Concordia a 5-2 MIAC setback at the SMU Ice Arena.
November 13, 2010: SMU killed off four penalties in the third period — including a key 5-on-3 man advantage — while clinging to a one-goal lead and held on to sweep Concordia 2-1 at SMU Ice Arena to start the conference season off 2-0 for the first time since the 2001-02 season.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
The Cardinals' 5-1 win over Concordia Friday snapped their 10-game winless streak (0-8-2). … SMU's five goals — which came from five different players — were a season high. … The Cardinals enter their season finale vs. Concordia riding a four-game winning streak vs. the Cobbers. … Friday's 5-1 win vs. CC marked just the fourth game this season that has not been decided by two goals or less. … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) and Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) each had a goal and an assist vs. Concordia Friday, while Brad Denney (Fishers, Ind.) had a pair of assists. … A.J. Mueller (New Berlin, Wis.), Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) and Andrew Ketterer (Peoria, Ill.) accounted for SMU's other three goals vs. the Cobbers Friday. … With his goal Friday, Wentland has now scored in six of the team's last seven games. … Wentland enters Saturday's rematch vs. Concordia with a team-best 10 goals, two more than Balko and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.). … Balko owns the team lead in assists (12) and points (20). … Balko is one of six Cardinals with 10 or more points — Wentland (17), Nagel (14), Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb. / 12), Mueller (10) and Denney (10) are the other five. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) finished with 24 saves against the Cobbers Friday. …  Scheib and Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Scheib boasting a 3.25 goals-against-average and an .899 save percentage, while Horstman owns a 3.32 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage in 13 games. … 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 4-4 tie vs. the Gusties on Feb. 10 was the 14th game this season that has been decided by one goal or less. … Over the past two seasons, the Cardinals have been involved in 26 games that have been decided by one goal or less. … SMU's OT game vs. Gustavus on Feb. 10 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. … Friday's win over Concordia was SMU's first road win of the season. … The Cardinals have held their opponent to one goal in three of their five wins, including a pair of 2-1 victories over MSOE and St. Olaf. … SMU has defeated two nationally ranked teams this season, beating eighth-ranked MSOE 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 22, then knocking off sixth-ranked and defending national champion St. Norbert 3-2 on Jan. 6. … SMU's 2-1 win over St. Olaf on Dec. 3 marked the first time this season SMU has won when its opponent scored the game's first goal (1-10-2). SMU has scored first in four of its five wins.

Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Cobbers' loss to Saint Mary's Friday officially eliminated them from MIAC playoff contention. … With Friday's loss, Concordia falls to 1-5-1 in its last six games. … Concordia has scored one goal or less in all 11 of its losses this season. … The Cobbers have played four overtime games this season — with all four ending in ties. … Trent Johnson's goal at 4:30 of the season period vs. Hamline last Saturday snapped a streak of 144:30 scoreless minutes for the Cobbers, who were blanked in each of their previous two games — a 2-0 loss to Gustavus on Jan. 28 and a 1-0 loss to Hamline last Friday. … Aaron Wheeler enters Saturday's against Saint Mary's with a team-leading seven goals, while Erick Galt and Caleb Suderman share the team lead in assists with 10 each. … Galt also owns the team lead in points with 14. … Galt is one of five Cobbers with 10 or more points. Ben Payne (12), Suderman (12), Wheeler (11) and Nick Thielen (10) are the other four. … Chris Neamonitis and Kelly Andrew have shared the goaltending duties for the Cobbers this season. Neamonitis owns a 2.10 goals-against-average and a .934 save percentage in 17 games, while Andrew has a 2.71 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 12 games. … Concordia has been outscored 14-4 in the first period and 25-14 in the second. The Cobbers hold a 20-19 edge in third-period goals. … Concordia is unbeaten (6-0-1) when scoring first. The Cobbers are 3-11-3 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.