ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team kicks off its 2013-14 schedule on Saturday, heading to Don Roberts Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. nonconference showdown with conference power Gustavus.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2012-13: 7-14-2 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (20012: 27-2-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
Saturday's showdown is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Gusties.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
February 8, 2013: SMU did something very few teams have done against Gustavus all season — score first. In fact, Macki Fadness' (Eau Claire, Wis.) first-period goal marked just the second time in 20 games that the second-ranked Gusties had not scored first. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, all Fadness' goal did was wake a sleeping giant, as Gustavus scored three unanswered goals — one in each period — in handing SMU a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.
February 9, 2013: For the second game in a row, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) found the back of the net for SMU. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, for the second straight day, Fadness' goal was their only one, as league-leading and No. 2-ranked Gustavus completed its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep, dropping SMU 6-1 at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are off until Nov. 16-17, when they kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a two-game series against St. Thomas. SMU travels to the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., on Nov. 16, and then host the Tommies in a 2 p.m. MIAC contest at the SMU Ice Arena a day later. … Gustavus begins conference play on Nov. 15-16, hosting Concordia in back-to-back MIAC contests at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2012-13 Final Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals had four players earn MIAC post-season honors in 2012-13 — Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) was a First-Team All-MIAC and MIAC All-Rookie Team selection, while Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.), Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) were honorable-mention picks. … Peterson closed out the season as the Cardinals' leader in all three offensive categories — goals (8), assists (8) and points (16). … Peterson recorded her first collegiate three-point game in SMU's season-opener against St. Norbert, scoring a goal and adding two assists. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) — who shared the team assist lead with Peterson and Klimek, and was second to Peterson in goals (7) and points (15) — also recorded her first collegiate three-point game, scoring three goals in SMU's 3-2 overtime win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4. … The hat trick was the first of DeBartolo's collegiate career and was her second game-winning goal of the season. DeBartolo also netted the game-winner — also in overtime — against Hamline on Nov. 9. … Peterson, DeBartolo, Klimek and Fadness all posted two-assist games in 2012-13. … Along with her first collegiate two-assist game, Klimek also scored two goals in a game for the first time last season against Saint Benedict on Feb. 2. … SMU closed out the season with five players boasting 10 or more points — Peterson (16), DeBartolo (15), Fadness (12), Klimek (11) and Coolsaet (10). … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) and Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) shared the goaltending duties this season, with Herrmann leading the team with a 2.89 goals-against-average and a .911 save percentage, while Gustafson finished with a 3.15 GAA and an .890 save percentage. … Herrmann and Gustafson both posted 44-save efforts last season — Herrmann's coming against Concordia on Feb. 16 and Gustafson's against Gustavus on Feb. 9. … Gustafson made a team-leading 324 saves in 13 games, while Herrmann recorded 306 saves in 11 games. … The Cardinals owned a 5-2-0 record when scoring first, while going 2-12-1 when their opponent scored first. … With their 2-1 win over Hamline on Nov. 9, the Cardinals improved to 3-0-1 in their last four conference openers. … With their two wins over Hamline on Nov. 9-10, the Cardinals improved to 5-0-3 in the last four conference-opening series. … The Cardinals' 2-0-0 start to conference season was its first since opening the 2003-04 MIAC season by beating Concordia 2-1 and 3-0.

Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2013-14 Roster | 2012-13 Final Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Gustavus — ranked No. 4 in the USCHO.com Preseason Poll — heads into 2013-14 after a dominating performance a year ago in which GAC captured its ninth straight MIAC regular-season and 10th consecutive MIAC playoff championships. … GAC went 24-0-1 during the regular season, including a perfect 18-0-0 run through the conference schedule — marking the first unbeaten regular-season in Gustie women's hockey history. … GAC made its 10th straight NCAA national tournament appearance a year ago, advancing to the national semifinals for the fourth year in a row. … Coach Mike Carroll became just the second coach in NCAA Division III women's hockey history to win 300 games and was named the MIAC Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his decorated career. … The Gusties will begin their quest for an 11th straight national tournament appearance without the services of graduated senior Lindsey Hjelm, an AHCA First Team All-America, d3hockey.com First Team All-America, d3hockey.com West Region Player of the Year, MIAC Player of the Year, and four-time All-MIAC selection. … Hjelm closed out 2012-13 as the team-leader in all three offensive categories — goals (14), assists (16) and points (30). … Addison Eder-Zdechilk shared the team lead with Hjelm in goals, while sharing No. 2 in points (24) with Meagan Wanecke. … As a team, Gustavus scored 100 goals in 30 games last season, and boasted 17 players with at least one goal. … Gustavus used three different goalies last season, led by Lindsey Hibbard, who posted a 1.59 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage in 22 games. … Tara Hoverstad (0.81 GAA, .942 save percentage) and Colleen Jacoby (0.97 GAA and .957 save percentage) appeared in 10 and six games, respectively. … Gustavus scored 30 or more goals in all three periods, outscoring its opponents 32-11 in the first, 38-11 in the second and 30-17 in the third. … GAC played two overtime games last season, tying UW-Superior 1-1 on Feb. 5, while falling to Elmira 4-3 in the national tournament semifinal game on March 15.