WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host defending regular-season co-champion Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC | 2-4-0 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (1-1-0 MIAC | 3-3-0 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals split their two games against WIAC opponents UW-Superior and UW-Stevens Point last weekend at the SMU Ice Arena. SMU scored a pair of goals late in the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and lifting the Cardinals to a 3-1 nonconference win over UW-Superior on Friday, before suffering a wild, 6-4 setback to fifth-ranked UW-Stevens Point a day later. … Saint John's opened conference play against St. Olaf last weekend. SJU was blanked in Friday's MIAC opener 2-0 in Northfield, Minn., before rebounding with an impressive 7-4 victory in the rematch at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
October 28, 2012: SMU unveiled its high-octane offense in a 7-2 rout of Bethel in their season-opening game at the MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase. That same high-octane offense was on display at Fogerty Arena against Saint John's a day later. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Johnnies' turn this time around, as SJU erupted for five goals in the second period en route to an 8-1 victory over SMU.
February 1, 2013: The Cardinals, battling for one of those five MIAC post-season invitations, came up empty for the second game in a row, as Saint John's erupted for four second-period goals en route to a 6-0 conference win at the National Hockey Center.
February 2, 2013: SMU, mired in a four-game losing streak that included a span of nine straight scoreless periods, scored a pair of unanswered goals — including Bobby Thompson's (Centerville, Minn.) game-winner with 1:30 remaining in overtime — to lift SMU to the 2-1 victory.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Johnnies square off again on Saturday, as SMU hosts the Johnnies in the second game of their two-game MIAC series at 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Saint John's is the third 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. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) scored two of SMU's four goals against UW-Stevens Point last Saturday. It was the third collegiate two-goal game for the Cardinal junior. … Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) also scored against the Pointers Saturday, while Brad Fusaro (Kenai, Alaska), Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.) and Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) accounted for SMU's three goals in its 3-1 win over UW-Superior last Friday. … Wolter, Mezzano, Albergo and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) have all scored their first collegiate goals this season. … Marx now leads or shares the team lead in goals (3), assists (2) and points (5). … Wolter and Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) are second to Marx in goals with two each, while Thompson, Gruse, Mezzano and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) share the team lead in assists (2) with Marx. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) stopped a career-high 46 shots against UW-Stevens Point last Saturday. It was the most saves by a Cardinal goalie since Jason Horstman stopped 52 on Feb. 19, 2011. … Gaffy heads into this weekend's conference series against Saint John's with a 2.85 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. … 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 posted a season-high 41 shots on goal against UW-Superior on Nov. 16. … Six of SMU's 13 goals this season have come on the power play. … The Cardinals scored their first, first-period goal of the season against UW-Stevens Point last Saturday. … SMU has scored five goals in the second period and seven in the third period this season. … On the flip side, SMU has surrendered 18 goals after the game's opening 20 minutes — nine in the second period and nine in the third. … The Cardinals' four goals against UW-Stevens Point were the most in a loss since scoring four in a 5-4 overtime setback against Augsburg on Jan. 28, 2012. … SMU, which went 5-3-0 when scoring first a year ago, has scored the game's first goal in four of its six games this season — going 2-2-0. … 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Last Saturday's game against St. Olaf was the first home game of the season for the Johnnies, who play eight of their first nine games on the road. … Saturday's 7-4 victory over St. Olaf snapped the Johnnies' two–game losing streak. … Two of Saint John's three losses have been 2-0 shutouts. … SJU's 2-0 loss to St. Olaf last Saturday was just the second shutout loss in 83 MIAC games under head coach Doug Schueller … SJU has been outscored 7-1 in its three losses, while holding a 14-7 advantage in its three wins. … Kevin Becker had two goals and an assist to pace the Johnnies in their 7-4 win over St. Olaf last Saturday. Dave Mylrea, Josh Gross, Tyson Fulton, Andrew Commers and Nick Senta also scored for SJU. … Becker shares the team's goal-scoring lead (2) with Gross and Commers, while also leading the team in assists (3) and points (5). … SJU's 15 goals have come from 15 different players, while 20 Johnnies' have already recorded at least one point. … Saxton Soley — the reigning MIAC Player of the Year — has started four of SJU's six games in goal, compiling a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage. … Fellow goalie Mitch Thompson stopped 25 St. Olaf shots last Saturday in recording his first collegiate win, and heads into the weekend with a 2.51 GAA and a .919 save percentage in two starts. … After going 0-for-20 on the power play through the season's first five games, the Johnnies scored three power-play goals vs. St. Olaf last Saturday. … Saint John's has scored five goals in all three periods en route to its 15 goals this season. On the flip side, SJU's opponents have scored five goals in the second and third periods, while netting four in the first. … SJU is 2-0-0 when scoring first, and 1-3-0 when its opponent scores first.