WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team — coming off back-to-back wins over Bethel — squares off against league-leading St. Thomas on Friday. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-1-0 MIAC | 7-8-0 Overall)
vs. St. Thomas Tommies (6-2-0 MIAC | 9-7-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up a pair of convincing wins over then-league leading Bethel last weekend. SMU got goals from four different players and a 30-save effort in goal from Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) in a 4-1 victory over the Royals at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday. The Cardinals then completed the sweep a day later, getting a pair of goals from both Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) and Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) in beating BU 5-1. … St. Thomas, meanwhile, split its conference series against Hamline last weekend. UST surrendered the game's only goal in overtime in falling to the Pipers 1-0 on Friday in Vadnais Heights, Minn., before rebounding with a 3-0 victory a day later in Mendota Heights, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
October 29, 2011: For the first 52 minutes, SMU had an answer for everything St. Thomas threw at them. When the Tommies' Travis Baker scored UST's third goal with 7:31 remaining in regulation, however, it went unanswered, as UST held off the Cardinals 3-2 during the MIAC Showcase at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minn.
January 20, 2012: For the second straight Friday, the Cardinals grabbed a two-goal lead, grabbing a 2-0 first-period advantage against league-leading and 12th-ranked St. Thomas at the SMU Ice Arena. The Tommies, however, responded with four unanswered goals — two in the second and two more in the third — in handing SMU a 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
January 21, 2012: New day, new venue. Unfortunately for SMU, same old result, as No. 12 St. Thomas handed the Cardinals their second straight 4-2 setback at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals head to Mendota Heights, Minn., on Saturday, as SMU and UST square off in the second game of the teams' two-game conference series. Puck drops at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
This weekend's games against St. Thomas mark the second straight weekend the Cardinals will square off against an MIAC league leader. UST and Bethel were tied for the conference lead a week ago when SMU swept the Royals. … With their sweep of Bethel last weekend, the Cardinals have now swept two of their three conference series this season. The last time SMU recorded two conference sweeps in the same season was late in the 2005-2006 season, when the Cardinals swept Hamline (2-1 and 3-0) and St. Olaf (3-2, 3-2). … With their two wins against Bethel, SMU has now outscored its opponents 43-15 in its seven victories this season. … SMU's four goals against the Royals last Friday came from four different players — Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.), Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska), Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) and Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas), while Hill and Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) each scored twice and Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) accounted for the other in SMU's Saturday win over Bethel. … Thompson also added assists on two of the team's four goals vs. the Royals Friday en route to his third three-point game of the season. He has now recorded two or more points six times this year. … With his three goals last weekend, Hill has now netted five goals in the team's last four games. … The Cardinals have now posted 10 multiple-goal games this season. Hill has four, Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) has two, and Thompson, Gorup, McGlasson and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) have each recorded one. … Hill enters Friday's showdown with St. Thomas as the team- and conference-leader in all three offensive categories — goals (11), assists (10) and points (21). … SMU boasts six players with 10 or more points through 15 games — Hill (21), Thompson (16), Marx (12), Balko (12), McGlasson (11) and Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn. / 11). … SMU's 49 goals have come from 15 different players, while 20 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … After scoring just one shorthanded goal all of last season, SMU has netted five shorthanded goals this season — including Balko's last Friday against Bethel. … The five shorthanded goals are the most since SMU tallied five shorties during the 2006-07 season. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) made a season-high 30 saves against Bethel Friday and added a 22-save effort against the Royals in the teams' rematch on Saturday. … Scheib has now stopped 233 shots in 11 games, compiling a 3.50 goals-against-average and an .873 save percentage. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) equaled his career high with 30 saves against UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 5. It was the second 30-save effort in as many starts for the sophomore goalie. … The Cardinals netted a season-high nine goals in their 9-2 rout of Hamline on Nov. 9. … SMU's nine goals against the Pipers are the most since SMU erupted for 14 goals in a 14-3 win over Concordia during the 2006-07 season. … The Cardinals have scored first in seven of their 15 games — including five of their wins. … After going 0-6-0 when giving up the game's first goal, the Cardinals have won back-to-back games when their opponent scored first. … With Friday's win — which snapped SMU's five-game losing streak — the Cardinals improved to 4-1-0 on their home ice. … SMU's 4-0 loss at UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 5 marked the second time this season the Cardinals have been held without a goal.

Scouting the St. Thomas Tommies:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Last Friday's 1-0 loss to Hamline was the Tommies' second overtime game of the season. UST is now 0-1-1 in OT games in 2012-13. … The 1-0 loss to HU also marked the second time this season the Tommies have been shutout. UST lost to Plattsburgh 2-0 on Nov. 24. … UST has scored just seven goals in its seven losses this season. … St. Thomas' 3-0 win Saturday was the second shutout win over Hamline this season — the Tommies also blanked the Pipers 2-0 in a nonconference game on Dec. 8. … Four of UST's nine wins have been by shutout — the Tommies have also blanked Augsburg (3-0), Saint John's (3-0) and Gustavus (6-0). … Bryce Walker, Travis Baker and Spence Brendel accounted for UST's three goals vs. Hamline last Saturday. … Alex Altenbernd and Michael Krieg enter this weekend's series against Saint Mary's leading the team with five goals each, while Riley Horgan is the team-leader in both assists (9) and points (13). … Altenbernd has also eclipsed the 10-point barrier, owning 11 points through 17 games. … UST's 42 goals have come from 18 different players, while 21 Tommies have recorded at least one point. … UST's nine game-winning goals have come from nine different players. … Drew Fielding and Tyrone Simcoe have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Simcoe going 3-2-0 with a 1.37 goals-against-average and a .937 save percentage, while Fielding is 6-5-1 with a 1.81 GAA and a .923 save percentage. … Fielding stopped 40 of 41 shots last weekend in UST's 3-0 win and 1-0 overtime loss to Hamline. The lone goal was on a power play. … Fielding has notched three shutouts in 13 appearances, while Simcoe has accounted for the other two. … UST has allowed the fewest goals of any MIAC team thus far this season (31), an average of just 1.82 per game. … The Tommies have allowed just eight third-period goals in 16 games. … UST has not won, or lost, more than two games in a row all season. In fact, the Tommies have traded wins and losses in their last eight games, going 4-4-0. … UST has scored first in 10 of its 17 games — going 8-1-1. The Tommies are just 1-6-0 when their opponent scores first. … The Tommies are 32-5-1 in three seasons under Coach Jeff Boeser when they score three or more goals in a game.