WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns home for a pair of conference games against Concordia this weekend. SMU hosts the Cobbers in the first game of their two-game MIAC series on Friday at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-8-3 MIAC | 6-11-4 Overall)
vs. Concordia Cobbers (8-3-3 MIAC | 12-4-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of conference games to MIAC regular-season champion Gustavus last weekend. The sixth-ranked Gusties handed SMU an 8-2 setback at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday, then shut out the Cardinals 5-0 in the rematch at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday. … Concordia, meanwhile, swept its two-game MIAC series against Hamline at the Moorhead Sports Center, blanking the Pipers 3-0 on Friday, the holding off Hamline 3-2 on Saturday.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
November 12, 2010: The Cardinals scored three unanswered goals, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2, third-period lead, but surrendered the game-tying goal with three minutes remaining in regulation in settling for a 3-3 tie against the Cobbers at the Moorhead Sports Center.
November 13, 2010: SMU scored once in the second to push their lead to 2-0, then got a third-period hat trick from Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.), as the Cardinals cruised to a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Cobbers at the Moorhead Sports Center.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out their two-game MIAC series against Concordia on Saturday, hosting the Cobbers in a 2 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
After playing back-to-back games against the No. 1 team in the conference (Gustavus) last weekend, the Cardinals now entertain the MIAC's No. 2 team for two games this weekend. … Starting with Friday's game against Concordia, the Cardinals play three of their final four games on their home ice. … Last Saturday's 5-0 loss to Gustavus was just the second game this season in which SMU failed to score. The other was a 3-0 setback at the hands of Lake Forest on Oct. 29. … On the flip side, SMU has also won two games by shutout this season — a 1-0 decision over Hamline on Nov. 11 and a 1-0 victory over Saint Benedict on Feb. 4. … With their 8-2 and 5-0 losses to Gustavus last weekend, the Cardinals have now scored two goals or less in 10 of their 11 losses this season. … Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) scored SMU's two goals vs. Gustavus last Friday. … Peterson has now scored in two of SMU's last three games. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) shares the team lead in goals (6) with Peterson and Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.), while Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) owns a team-best seven assists. … Coolsaet, Peterson and Olson all share the team's top spot in points with 12. The trio are three of five SMU players with 10 or more points — Stenseth (11) and Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill. / 11) are the other two. … Olson — who has owned the team's points lead in each of the last two seasons — recorded her first collegiate hat trick and her first collegiate five-point game in SMU's 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) — who stopped a season-high 40 shots in notching her second shutout of the season and fourth of her collegiate career against Saint Benedict on Feb. 4 — finished with 72 saves against Gustavus last weekend. … Gustafson's 40-save effort against Saint Benedict on Feb. 4 was just three saves shy of her career best 43 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 6, 2010. … Gustafson enters this weekend's games against Concordia with a 2.38 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage. … SMU has held its opponent to one goal or less seven times this season. … With their 1-1 tie against Augsburg on Jan. 28, the Cardinals have now equaled the school record for ties in a season at four. … SMU, which has now played six overtime games this season, is still looking for its first overtime win of the season (0-2-4). …  SMU is 1-2-7 in its last 10 overtime games. … SMU's five goals vs. the Auggies in the Cardinals' 5-2 win on Jan. 27 equaled their highest offensive output of the season. SMU also scored five goals in a 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … SMU's opponents have scored first in 14 of the Cardinals' 21 games this season. … Forty-two of the 56 goals allowed by SMU this season have come after the first period.

Concordia Cobbers News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Heading into their weekend series against Saint Mary's, the Cobbers need two points (one win or two ties) — or a St. Catherine loss — to lock up a spot in the MIAC playoffs. … With their 3-0 and 3-2 sweep of Hamline last weekend, the Cobbers have now won three straight and are 3-1-1 in their last five games. … The Cobbers, who opened the season 10-1-1 in their first 12 games, have not lost back-to-back games this season. … Concordia has played three overtime games this season — with all three ending in ties. … Breann Julius scored a pair of goals and Becca Hendrickson stopped all nine Piper shots in last Friday's 3-0 win over Hamline. … The shutout was Hendrickson's first of her collegiate career. … The nine shots allowed were the fewest surrendered by the Cobbers since the 2000-2001 season, when CC held St. Olaf to seven shots. … Rachel Stevenson accounted for the Cobbers' third goal against Hamline last Friday, while Jenna Westerham, Abby Taffe and Madison Gendreau scored for CC in the teams' Saturday rematch. … Julius' two goals vs. Hamline last Friday pushed her team-leading total to 16, two more than Taffe. … Katelyn Dold is the team-leader in assists (16), while Taffe owns a team-best 27 points. … Taffe is one of five Cobbers with 10 or more points. Dold (25), Julius (22), Gendreau (15) and Ali Nelson (11) are the other four. … Concordia's 57 goals have come from 14 different players, while 18 Cobbers have recorded at least one point. … The Cobbers have used three different goaltenders this year, with Hendrickson owning a team-best 1.50 goals-against-average and an .889 save percentage in four appearances, while Tamara Twite and Desiree Goret each boast 2.69 GAAs, Twite's in 11 games and Goret's in five. … The Cobbers have scored first in 13 of their 19 games this season, going 9-1-3. CC is just 3-3 when its opponent scores first. … The Cobbers have won six games at home and six on the road — CC is 6-3-3 on its home ice, while going 6-1-0 away from the Moorhead Sports Center.