MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team takes to the road on Friday, as the Cardinals kick off a two-game MIAC series against Augsburg Friday at the Ed Saugestad Arena. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-2-1 MIAC | 7-9-1 Overall)
at Augsburg Auggies (1-5-2 MIAC | 3-11-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up one conference point in their two-game series against conference-leading St. Thomas last weekend. SMU, behind 38 saves from Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) battled UST to a 0-0 overtime tie last Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, before the Tommies dealt Saint Mary's a 7-2 setback in the rematch Saturday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena. … Augsburg, meanwhile, battled Hamline to a pair of conference ties last weekend. The Auggies and Pipers skated to a 1-1 deadlock at the Vadnais Heights Sports Center in Vadnais Heights, Minn., on Friday, then settled for a 2-2 stalemate on Saturday at the Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn.

SMU vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
January 27, 2012: For the fourth straight game, SMU netted two goals against Augsburg. Like the three games before, however, two goals was not enough for the win, as Augsburg held off the Cardinals 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena.
January 28, 2012: For the 10th time this season — and fifth time in their last six games — the Cardinals got on the board first in their rematch against Augsburg at Ed Saugestad Rink. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not write a more favorable final chapter again, as Augsburg's Trevor Doden scored his third goal of the game at 2:34 into overtime to lift the Auggies to a 5-4 win over SMU.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Auggies head to the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday, as the two teams complete their two-game MIAC series with a 7:30 p.m. contest.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Thanks to the one conference point the Cardinals collected against league-leading St. Thomas, Saint Mary's enters this weekend's showdown with Augsburg sitting third in the conference standings. UST (7-2-1) leads the league with 15 points, followed by St. Olaf (6-2-0, 12 points), SMU (5-2-1, 11 points), Bethel (5-5-0, 10 points) and Concordia (5-5-0, 10 points). … Last weekend's games against St. Thomas marked the second straight weekend the Cardinals squared off against an MIAC league leader. UST and Bethel were tied for the conference lead when SMU swept the Royals on Jan. 11-12. … Andy Scheib stopped all 38 shots he faced vs. the Tommies last Friday en route to his first collegiate shutout. … Scheib's 38 saves were three shy of his career high. The senior followed up that 38-save effort by adding 37 saves in SMU's 7-2 loss to the Tommies on Saturday. … SMU's 0-0 tie vs. the Tommies marked the first time in program history the Cardinals played to a scoreless tie. … Scheib heads into Friday's game against Augsburg with a 3.48 goals-against-average and an .883 save percentage. … Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) and Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) accounted for SMU's two goals against the Tommies last Saturday. … Gorup has now scored three goals in SMU's last three games. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) recorded his third three-point game of the season with his one goal and two assists vs. Bethel on Jan. 11. Thompson has now recorded two or more points six times this year. … The Cardinals have posted 10 multiple-goal games this season. Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) has four, Balko has two, and Thompson, Gorup, Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) have each recorded one. … Hill enters Friday's showdown with Augsburg as the team- and conference-leader in goals (11) and points (21), while his team-best 10 assists ranked third in the MIAC. … SMU boasts seven players with 10 or more points through 15 games — Hill (21), Thompson (16), Balko (13), Marx (12), McGlasson (11), Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn. / 11) and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn. / 10). … SMU's 51 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 six shorthanded goals this season. … The six shorthanded goals are the most since SMU tallied a school-record seven shorties during the 1991-92 season. … With their sweep of Bethel on Jan. 11-12, the Cardinals have now swept two of their four 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. …  The Cardinals scored 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. … The Cardinals are 2-8-0 when their opponent scores first. … With last Friday's 0-0 tie, the Cardinals improved to 4-1-1 on their home ice.

Scouting the Augsburg Auggies:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Augsburg's 1-1 tie with Hamline last Friday snapped their four-game losing streak. With their two ties vs. the Pipers last weekend, however, the Auggies' winless streak climbed to seven (0-4-3). Augsburg has not won since beating UW-Superior 8-2 on Dec. 7, 2012. … The Auggies have now played five overtime games, going 0-2-3 — with both losses decided by 3-2 scores. … Thomas Paine scored Augsburg's lone goal in last Friday's 1-1 tie with Hamline, while B.J. McClellan and Loren Egan accounted for the Auggies' two goals in the teams' rematch on Saturday. Justin Lochner finished with 63 saves against the Pipers, kicking out 28 HU shots on Friday, before adding a 35-save effort on Saturday. … Ben McClellan enters this weekend's series against Saint Mary's leading the team in all three offensive categories with six goals, six assists and 12 points. … B.J. McClellan is second in goals (5) and points (8), while Mack Ohnsted's five asissts are one back of Ben McClellan. … Augsburg's three game-winning goals have come from three different players — Ben McClellan, B.J. McClellan and Derek Loisel. … Lochner has started 15 of the Auggies' 16 games in goal, compiling a 3.11 goals-against-average and an .898 save percentage. … Lochner's 35 saves against Hamline Saturday were one shy of his season-high 36-save effort against St. Scholastica on Jan. 4. … The Auggies have scored nine power-play goals, while their opponents have also netted nine goals with the man advantage. … Augsburg has been outscored 56-37 — including 17-6 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Auggies have scored the game's first goal eight times, going 3-3-2. Augsburg has not won when its opponent scores first (0-8-1).