WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team steps out of conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host UW-Superior in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3-0 Overall) vs. UW-Superior Yellowjackets (0-2-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals surrendered three goals in each of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against St. Thomas last weekend, as the Tommies handed SMU 3-1 and 3-0 setbacks. … UW-Superior dropped both of its nonconference games last weekend, falling to Saint John's 3-1 and Concordia 3-2.

SMU vs. UW-Superior — Their Last Meeting:
November 2, 2012: It took SMU seven minutes to get warmed up — and once the Cardinals got their feet under them, they gave UW-Superior all it could handle at the SMU Ice Arena. In fact, over the game's final 53 minutes, SMU outscored UW-Superior 1-0. Unfortunately, in those first seven minutes — while the Cardinals were trying to knock the rust off — UW-Superior was flying high, as the Yellowjackets scored three times and held off Saint Mary's 3-1 in Superior, Wis. | Recap

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back in action on Saturday, as SMU hosts UW-Stevens Point in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Ice Arena. … UW-Superior heads to Falcon Heights, Minn., on Saturday for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Hamline.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against UW-Superior is the first of six straight home games for the Cardinals, who do not play on the road again until Dec. 10, when they travel to Appleton, Wis., for a nonconference game against Lawrence. … Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.) accounted for SMU's lone goal against the Tommies last weekend. It was Wolter's first collegiate goal. … Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) picked up the assist on Wolter's goal for his first point of the season. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) — who finished second on the team in all three offensive categories a year ago with 10 goals, 11 assists and 21 points — leads the team with four points (2 G, 2 A). … Thompson had a goal and an assist in the Cardinals' season-opener against Augsburg, marking the second straight season the SMU forward has recorded a multiple-point game in the team's season-opener. Thompson notched his first collegiate three-point game (1 goal, 2 assists) in SMU's 7-2 win over Bethel to open last year's season. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa), Brad Denney (Fishers, Ind.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) have accounted for SMU's other goals this season. … Gruse's third-period tally against St. Olaf on Nov. 3 — which broke a 2-2 tie with two minutes remaining in regulation — was his first goal as a Cardinal. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) — who stopped a career-high 36 shots in SMU's 3-2 win over St. Olaf last Sunday — finished with 53 saves in his two starts against the Tommies last weekend. … Fellow goalie Mitch Fernsler (York, Pa.) recorded 35 saves in his first collegiate start against Augsburg in the teams' season-opener on Nov. 2 … As a team, the Cardinals have converted on three of their 17 power-play opportunities, while holding their opponents to just three PP goals in 24 chances. … SMU has scored three goals in the second period and three in the third period this season. The Cardinals are still searching for their first, first-period goal of the year. … SMU, which went 5-3-0 when scoring first and 3-13-0 when they opponent scored first a year ago, has scored the game's first goal in two of its four games this season — going 1-1-0. … With their 6-2 loss to Augsburg and 3-2 win over St. Olaf, the Cardinals have now gone 1-1 in each of the last two MIAC Hockey Showcases.

Scouting The UW-Superior Yellowjackets:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of four straight nonconference games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents for the Yellowjackets, who fell to Saint John's (3-1) and Concordia (3-2) last weekend. … UW-Superior will also play MIAC foes Bethel and St. Thomas later this season. … With their two losses last weekend, the Yellowjackets dropped to 1-12-1 in their last 14 games. … Eric Shand, Jordan Neduziak and Jordan Shockley have scored UW-Superior's three goals this year. … Derek Stauber has assisted on two of the team's three goals and shares the points lead (2) with Shockley. … Drew Strandberg and Dayn Belfour have each started one game in goal for the Yellowjackets. Strandberg stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced vs. Saint John's and owns a 3.02 goals-against-average and a .900 save percentage, while Belfour tallied 16 saves on 19 shots vs. Concordia and boasts a 3.04 GAA and an .842 save percentage. … Two of UW-Superior's three goals have come in the first period, whiel five of the six goals scored by the Yellowjackets' opponents have come after the game's opening 20 minutes.