MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its 2011-2012 season on the road, traveling to Concordia for a pair of MIAC games against the Cobbers. Puck drops on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-11-2 MIAC | 4-17-2 Overall)
at Concordia Cobbers (5-6-3 MIAC | 9-10-4 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Streaming Audio | Video Preview

Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up a conference point in its conference series against Gustavus last weekend. SMU got a pair of goals from Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) — the second with 15 seconds remaining in regulation — as the Cardinals earned a 4-4 tie vs. the Gusties last Friday at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn. GAC won the second game 4-1, getting a pair of power-play goals and an empty netter in the game's final five minutes. … Concordia, meanwhile, split its MIAC series against Hamline last weekend in St. Paul, Minn. The Cobbers dropped the first game 1-0 last Friday,then picked up a 2-1 win in the rematch on Saturday.

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.

Up Next:
The same two teams complete their two-game conference series — closing out the 2011-2012 regular season — with a 2 p.m. MIAC game at the Moorhead Sports Center in Moohead, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
The Cardinals' 4-1 loss to Gustavus last Saturday marked just the third time this season SMU has played a game not decided by two goals or less. … Last Friday's 4-4 tie vs. the Gusties 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 snapped its six-game losing streak with last Friday's 4-4 tie vs. Gustavus, but the Cardinals' 4-1 loss a day later extended their winless streak to 10 straight (0-8-2). … The Cardinals' four goals vs. Gustavus last 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 last 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 last Friday, while Wentland netted a power-play tally on Saturday to account for SMU's goal. … With his two goals last weekend, Wentland has scored in five of the team's last seven games. … Wentland enters this weekend's games against Concordia with a team-leading nine goals, one more than Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.). … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) owns the team lead in assists (11) and points (18). … Balko is one of four players with 10 or more points. Wentland (15), Nagel (13) and Gorup (12) are the other three. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) finished with 35 saves against the Gusties last Friday, while Jason Horstman made 29 saves in the teams' rematch on Saturday. … Horstman and Scheib have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Horstman owning a 3.32 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage in 13 games, while Scheib holds a 3.45 GAA and an .894 save percentage in 11 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. … 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 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 three of its four wins (3-7-0).

Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Cobbers enter their weekend series against Saint Mary's sitting in sixth place in the conference standings, two points back of Hamline for the fifth and final playoff spot. … A sweep, or a win and a tie, against SMU this weekend earns Concordia a return trip to the MIAC post-season. A split or worse, and CC will be left on the outside looking in. If Hamline and Concordia end the regular-season tied, the Pipers get the nod via the second tiebreaking criteria (more wins in conference play). … Saturday's 2-1 win over Hamline snapped the Cobbers' five-game winless streak (0-4-1). Concordia had sandwiched a pair of two-game losing streaks around a 4-4 tie against Gustavus. … Concordia has scored one goal or less in all 10 of their 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 the weekend series against Saint Mary's with a team-leading seven goals, while Erick Galt, Caleb Suderman and Ben Payne share the team lead in assists with nine each. … Galt also owns the team lead in points with 13. … Galt is one of five Cobbers with 10 or more points. Payne (12), Wheeler (11), Suderman (10) 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 2.06 goals-against-average and a .937 save percentage in 15 games, while Andrew has a 2.61 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 11 games. … Concordia has been outscored 13-4 in the first period and 22-14 in the second. The Cobbers hold a 20-18 edge in third-period goals. … Concordia is unbeaten (6-0-1) when scoring first. The Cobbers are 3-10-3 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.