ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team hits the road this weekend, playing a pair of MIAC game against Saint Benedict, beginning Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5-3 MIAC | 5-8-4 Overall)
at Saint Benedict Blazers (1-6-3 MIAC | 3-11-3 Overall)

Last Action:
The Cardinals grabbed three of a possible four conference points last weekend against Augsburg, as SMU picked up a 5-2 win in Minneapolis, Minn., last Friday, then battled the Auggies to a 1-1 overtime tie in the rematch at the SMU Ice Arena a day later. … Saint Benedict, meanwhile, came up empty in its two-game MIAC series against Hamline last weekend, falling 2-1 in St. Paul, Minn., last Friday, then dropping a 4-3 decision on Saturday in St. Cloud, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
February 11, 2011: Saint Benedict scored three unanswered goals in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Blazers to a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the SMU Ice Arena.
February 12, 2011: SMU got a pair of goals from Stevie Fiek in helping the Cardinals to their fourth win in their last five games, a 4-1 victory over Saint Benedict at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Blazers square off again on Saturday in the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drops at 2 p.m. at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
With Saturday's 1-1 tie against Augsburg, the Cardinals have now equaled the school record for ties in a season at four. … The 1-1 tie vs. Augsburg also marked the second straight Saturday in which SMU played an OT game — the Cardinals dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to St. Thomas on Jan. 21. … 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 now 1-2-7 in its last 10 overtime games. … SMU has held its opponent to one goal or less six times this season. … SMU's five goals vs. the Auggies equaled the Cardinals' highest offensive output of the season. SMU also scored five goals in a 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … SMU scored four of its five goals last Friday vs. Augsburg in the last 1:16 of a period — including back-to-back goals 21 seconds apart in the waning seconds of the third period. … Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) had a goal in both games vs. Augsburg last weekend, while Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.), Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.), Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) and Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) accounted for SMU's other four goals vs. the Auggies. … Martin's goal was the first of her collegiate career. … Coolsaet has now scored in three straight games. … Coolsaet enters this weekend's games against Saint Benedict with a team-leading 12 points. … Coolsaet also shares the team lead in goals (6) with Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.), while joining DeBartolo, Olson and Peterson atop the team lead in assists with six. … The Cardinals boast five players with 10 or more points — Coolsaet (12), Stenseth (11), DeBartolo (11), Olson (11) and Peterson (10). … 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 kicked out 38 shots against Augsburg last weekend — enters Friday's game vs. Saint Benedict with a 1.96 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage. … SMU has surrendered three goals in each of their last four losses — and in six of their eight losses overall. …  SMU's opponents have scored first in 11 of the Cardinals' 17 games this season. … Third-one of the 40 goals allowed by SMU this season have come after the first period.

Saint Benedict News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Saturday's 4-3 loss to Hamline was the Blazers' third straight loss, and extended their winless streak to nine straight (0-7-2). … Saint Benedict has played five overtime games this season, going 0-1-4. … CSB has scored a season-high four goals in two of its three wins this season — beating Marian 4-2 to open the season on Oct. 29, then dropping Augsburg 4-1 on Nov. 19. The Blazers also scored four goals in a 5-4 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 18. … Saint Benedict has scored three of more goals in eight of its 17 games. … Kerri Graske, Erin Geier, Catherine Pollock and Allyson Nielsen accounted for CSB's four goals vs. Hamline last weekend. … Graske's goal on Friday vs. Hamline was her fifth of the season, moving her into a tie for the team lead with Amie Ernst. … Megan Brettingen is the team's leader in assists (8) and points (12). … CSB's 37 goals have come from 14 different players, while 19 of the 20 Blazers who have played in a game this season have recorded at least one point. … Jenna Traut, who finished with 50 saves in the two games against Hamline last weekend, enters the weekend against Saint Mary's with a 2.57 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage in 12 starts. … The Blazers have scored first in seven of their 17 games, going 2-3-2. CSB is 1-8-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.



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