MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to the St. Thomas Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with St. Thomas.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4-0 MIAC | 4-7-0 Overall)
at St. Thomas Tommies (3-3-0 MIAC | 4-5-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Jan. 4-5 with a split against UW-Eau Claire. Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) scored all three of SMU's goals — including the game-winner 1:12 into overtime — as the Cardinals recorded a 3-2 victory over UW-Eau Claire at the SMU Ice Arena on Jan. 4, with the Blugolds earning the split with a 5-2 victory in the teams' rematch on Jan. 5 at the Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis. … St. Thomas, meanwhile, closed out its nonconference schedule last weekend, battling UW-Eau Claire to a 2-2 tie on Friday in Mendota Heights, Minn., then falling to UW-Stevens Point 4-1 on Saturday in Stevens Point, Wis.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
January 21, 2012: For three periods, SMU had an answer for every St. Thomas goal. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the fourth period — the five-minute overtime — was sudden death, and when UST's Morgan Olson scored the game-winner with 57 seconds remaining, SMU did not get a chance to answer, as the Tommies handed Saint Mary's a 3-2 MIAC setback at the SMU Ice Arena.
January 22, 2012: St. Thomas completed the conference sweep of the Cardinals at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., scoring a pair of unanswered third-period goals en route to a 3-1 victory.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Tommies square off again on Saturday, as SMU hosts St. Thomas in a 2 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Cardinals' 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4 snapped the Cardinals' season-high five-game losing streak. … SMU's Jan. 4 victory also marked the seventh time in their last nine games that the final was decided by two goals or less. … After going winless (0-2-6) in eight overtime games a year ago, the Cardinals are now 2-0-0 in OT games this season. SMU also beat Hamline 2-1 overtime on Nov. 9. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) scored the game-winner against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4 — the sophomore forward also scored the game-winner in SMU's first OT win of the season against Hamline on Nov. 9. … DeBartolo accounted for all three goals vs. the Blugolds on Jan. 4 en route to her first collegiate multiple-goal game and her first collegiate hat trick. … Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Brooke Bartelt (New Prague, Minn.) accounted for SMU's two goals in its 5-2 loss to UW-EC on Jan. 5. … SMU scored three power play goals against UW-Eau Claire — including both goals in their 5-2 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 5. … With her three goals on Jan. 4, DeBartolo moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (5) with Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.). The two also share the team lead in points with nine, while Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) owns a team-best six assists. … Two of Peterson's five goals this season have been shorthanded. … SMU's 26 goals have come from 11 different players, including collegiate firsts from Klimek, Rory Petrisin (High Bridge, N.J.), Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Minn.), McKenna Parent (Ham Lake, Minn.) and Katie Ehlenfeldt (Beaver Dam, Wis.). … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) — who stopped a season-high 34 shots against Hamline on Nov. 9 — made 27 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, while Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) kicked out 25 Blugold shots the following day. … Gustafson has stopped 152 shots in six starts this season, and owns a 3.17 goals-against-average and an .889 save percentage. … Herrmann, meanwhile, owns a 3.02 GAA and an .894 save percentage in six appearances. … Herrmann made 20 saves against Concordia-Wis. on Oct. 27 en route to her first collegiate win, and added a career-best 31-save effort against Hamline on Nov. 10. … With their 3-2 overtime win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, the Cardinals evened their record to 2-2-0 at the SMU Ice Arena. … SMU owns a 3-1-0 record when scoring first, but the Cardinals are just 1-6-0 when their opponent scores first.

Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
UST's loss to UW-Stevens Point Saturday snapped the Tommies' two-game unbeaten streak (1-0-1). … After opening the season 3-1-0, UST has slipped to 1-4-1 in its last six games. … Christina Rozeske and Megan Juricko accounted for UST's two goals vs. UW-Eau Claire last Friday, while Lauren Mumm netted the Tommies' lone tally against UW-Stevens Point on Saturday. … Rozeske's goal vs. the Blugolds last Friday moved her into a tie with Maria Bothwell and Courtney Umland for the team lead in goals with three each. … Korinne O'Connor and Mary Grace Flesher share the team's top spot in assists (5), while O'Connor also leads the team in points with seven — one more than Rozeske and Flesher. … All three of Bothwell's goals have been on the power play. … O'Connor is approaching 100 career games played (87). She leads all current players with 59 career points, compiling 25 goals and 34 assists. … Alise Riedel and Taylor Neisen have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Riedel leading the team in both goals-against-average (1.86) and save percentage (.945) in nine games. Neisen, meanwhile, has recorded a 2.56 GAA and an .896 save percentage in four appearances. … Three of UST's four wins have come on the road. The Tommies are just 1-1-1 on their home ice. … The Tommies have been shut out three times — falling to Lake Forest (3-0), Gustavus (1-0) and Concordia (1-0). … Despite their sub-.500 record (4-5-1), the Tommies have outscored their opponents 23-22 — including 10-5 in the third period. … UST has scored on nine of 30 power plays, tops in the conference. … UST is 4-0 this season when scoring three or more goals. Conversely, they've scored a total of two goals in their five losses. … UST is unbeaten (3-0-1) when scoring first, but just 1-5-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. Over the last two seasons, St. Thomas is 15-3-2 in games when it scored the first goal and 4-11-1 when the Tommies' opponent scores first. … St. Thomas has recorded 12 consecutive top-three conference finishes. UST has played in the conference playoffs 12 years in a row, with eight trips to the finals and one championship.