WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its two-game MIAC series against Saint John's on Saturday, hosting the Johnnies in a 4 p.m. game at the SMU Ice Arena.


The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-9-1 MIAC | 4-15-1 Overall)
vs. Saint John's Johnnies (6-5-0 MIAC | 8-10-2 Overall)

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Last Night:
Saint John's scored four minutes into the third period, then held off a late Cardinal rally in handing SMU a 3-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arean.

SMU vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
February 12, 2011: SMU got a goal from Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) at 7:15 of the third period to beat Saint John's 4-3 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.
February 13, 2011: Saint John's scored three first-period goals and never looked back in handing SMU a 4-2 MIAC setback at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals take on Gustavus in a two-game conference series next weekend. SMU travels to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 p.m. contest with the Gusties, when returns home for its final home game of the season on Saturday, hosting GAC in a 7:30 p.m. contest. … Saint John's, meanwhile, squares off against St. Olaf next weekend. SJU heads to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday, then returns home for a 7 p.m. rematch with the Oles and the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., on Saturday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule | 2011-12 Media Guide
Friday's 3-2 loss to Saint John's was the Cardinals' third straight one-goal setback. … SMU has now played 12 games this season that have been decided by one goal or less. … Only two of the Cardinals' 19 games have been decided by more than two goals. … Saint John's netted the game's first goal Friday, marking just the second time in the Cardinals' last seven games that SMU has not scored the game's first goal. … Friday's 3-2 loss to Saint John's marked the fifth time in their last six games that Saint Mary's has scored two goals. … Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) and Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) scored SMU's two goals vs. SJU Friday. … Griffiths has now scored in back-to-back games. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) was held without a goal vs. the Johnnies Friday, snapping his three-game goal-scoring streak. … Wentland enters Saturday's game against Saint John's tied for the team lead in goals (7) with Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.). … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.), who assisted on Fusaro's goal Friday, owns the team lead in assists (9) and points (15). … Balko is one of four players with 10 or more points. Wentland (13), Nagel (11) and Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb. / 10) are the other three. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) stopped 24 shots against the Johnnies Friday. … Horstman and Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Horstman owning a 3.37 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage, while Scheib has a 3.42 GAA and an .895 save percentage. … Scheib kicked out 40 shots in last Saturday's overtime game against Augsburg. The 40 saves were a season high and one short of his career-best 41 saves against Gustavus on Feb. 19, 2010. … SMU's four goals vs. Augsburg in last Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss equaled the Cardinals' highest offensive output of the season. SMU is 1-2 in those three four-goal games — beating Marian (4-2), while falling to Hamline (5-4) and Augsburg (5-4). Ironically, other four-goal losses came in overtime. … Last Saturday's OT game vs. Augsburg was the fourth overtime game this season, going 1-2-1. … 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. … All four of SMU's wins — and their lone tie — 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's 3-2 win over sixth-ranked and defending national champion St. Norbert on Jan. 6 was the Cardinals' second win over a nationally ranked team this season. SMU downed then-eighth ranked Milwaukee School of Engineering 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 22. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. Bethel on Jan. 21 was the Cardinals' first tie of the season. … SMU's Dec. 3 win over St. Olaf marked the first time this season SMU has won when its opponent scored the game's first goal (1-6-1).

Saint John's Johnnies News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
With Friday's win over Saint Mary's, SJU has now won five of its last six games — the lone blemish a 5-1 loss at Hamline last Saturday. … Hamline's five goals on Saturday marked the fourth time this season the Johnnies have surrendered five goals this season. The other three all came against St. Thomas — 5-3 and 5-4 losses on Nov. 11-12, and a 5-3 loss Dec. 10. … The Johnnies enter Saturday's game against Saint Mary's having played in three overtime games, going 0-1-2. … Friday's 3-2 win over Saint Mary's was the the Johnnies' 10th one-goal game of the season. … Jascha Pettit scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season vs. Saint Mary's Friday. … John Haeg enters Saturday's rematch vs. SMU with a team-leading 17 assists — including helpers on two of SJU's three goals Friday — while also owning a team-best 21 points. … Haeg is one of three Johnnies with 10 or more assists and one of eight with 10 or more points. … J.D. Wells made 24 saves against the Cardinals Friday evening. … Tony Civello has seen the majority of the work between the pipes for the Johnnies, compiling a 3.26 goals-against-average and an .885 save percentage in 14 starts, while Wells owns a 1.70 GAA and a .926 save percentage in seven starts. … The Johnnies are 6-2-0 when scoring first, but just 2-8-2 when their opponent scores the game's first goal. … Five of Saint John's eight wins have come on the Johnnies' home ice. SJU is 3-8-1 on the road.