BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team closes out its 2011-2012 season on Saturday, traveling to the Bethel Arena for Game 2 of their conference series against Bethel. Puck drops at 4 p.m.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-9-5 MIAC | 6-12-6 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (9-6-2 MIAC | 11-9- Overall)

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

Last Night:
The Cardinals got goals from Sheree Haslemore (Gore, New Zealand) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), as SMU battled visiting Bethel to a 2-2 MIAC tie at the SMU Ice Arena Friday evening.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
January 21, 2011: After managing just a single goal in each of its last three games, the Cardinals came up empty in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel, as the Royals scored once in all three periods in handing SMU a 3-0 setback at the Schwan's Super Rink.
January 22, 2011: Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) and Sheree Haslemore (Gore, New Zealand) scored early in the first and second periods, respectively, as the Cardinals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-1 MIAC win over the Royals 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
Saturday's game against Bethel is the final collegiate game for SMU graduating seniors Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.), Sheree Haslemore (Gore, New Zealand), Dana Kreuser (Maplewood, Minn.), Rachel Gates-Vickery (New Brighton, Minn.), Alex Braun (Darwin, Minn.) and Madeline Lenz (White Bear Lake, Minn.). …  After playing back-to-back game against the No. 1 (Gustavus) and No. 2 (Concordia) teams in the conference standings the past two weeks, the Cardinals close out their season with back-to-back games against the conference's No. 3 team in Bethel. … The Cardinals recorded their second straight tie — and second straight 2-2 tie at that — with Friday's stalemate against Bethel. … SMU has now played eight overtime games this season — one third of their games this season have gone into OT. … The Cardinals are still looking for their first overtime win of the season (0-2-6). … SMU is 1-2-9 in its last 12 overtime games. … SMU's six ties are a single-season school record. … Haslemore and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) scored SMU's two goals vs. Bethel Friday evening. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) — who scored in both of SMU's game against Concordia last weekend — assisted on Therrien's goal and has now recorded a point in three straight games. … Stenseth and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) — who has scored in four of SMU's last six games — share the team lead in goals with eight, while Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) owns a team-best nine assists. … Peterson, Stenseth and DeBartolo share the team lead in points with 14 each. The trio are three of six  Cardinals entering their season finale weekend of the season with 10 or more points — Olson (13), Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich. / 12) and Therrien (10) are the other three. … 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. … Olson enters her final collegiate game ranking in the top 10 all-time in career points (8th / 63), goals (7th / 30) and assists (10th / 33). … SMU's 46 goals have come from 12 different players, while 18 of the 20 Cardinals who have played this season have notched at least one point. … 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 25 saves against Bethel Friday night. … 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 Saturday's game against Bethel with a 2.45 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage. … SMU has scored two goals in four of its last five games. … With their 5-2 loss to Concordia on Feb. 17 the Cardinals have scored two goals or less in 11 of their 12 losses this season. … SMU has recorded a pair of shutout victories this season — a 1-0 decision over Hamline on Nov. 11 and a 1-0 victory over Saint Benedict on Feb. 4. … SMU has held its opponent to one goal or less seven times this season. …  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 15 of the Cardinals' 23 games this season. … Forty-nine of the 65 goals allowed by SMU this season have come after the first period.

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With their 2-2 tie against Saint Mary's Friday — coupled with their 3-1 and 4-2 sweep of Saint Benedict last weekend — locked up a berth in the five-team MIAC post-season tournament. …  Bethel heads into Saturday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's riding a five-game unbeaten streak (3-0-2). … Charise Kendrick and Kalie Johnson scored Bethel's two goal vs. Saint Mary's Friday. … Cristina Masten enters Bethel's showdown with Saint Mary's as the team-leader in goals with 15. … Anna Carlson owns a team-best 20 assists, while Biz Huss has a team-high 26 points. … Carlson is one of four Royals with 10 or more assists, while Huss heads up a group of six Bethel players with 10 or more points. … The Royals' 65 goals have come from 13 different players. … Five of Masten's 15 goals have been game-winners. … Jess Newstrom — who finished with 24 saves Friday against Saint Mary's — has seen the majority of the action between the pipes, compiling a 2.18 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage in 19 games. … Bethel has outscored its opponents by three goals, 68-65, through 24 games. BU holds a 29-25 advantage in the third period. The Royals' opponents own a 23-22 advantage in the middle period. … The Royals have scored first in 14 of their 24 games, going 8-4-2. BU is just 3-5-2 when its opponent scores first.