WINONA, Minn. — For the third straight weekend, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team will be on its home ice, as the Cardinals entertain Lake Forest in a pair of nonconference games, beginning Friday at 7 p.m., with Saturday's rematch at 2 p.m.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5-0 Overall) vs. Lake Forest Foresters (5-2-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals earned a split in their two-game MIAC series against defending regular-season co-champion Saint John's last weekend, dropping the first game 4-3, while bouncing back for a 3-2 win in the second game at the SMU Ice Arena … Lake Forest posted back-to-back wins over Finlandia last weekend in Lake Forest, Ill., as the Foresters cruised to 3-2 and 3-1 wins.

SMU vs. Lake Forest — A Year Ago:
December 7, 2012: SMU got off to a flying start in its nonconference game against Lake Forest. The problem was, as quickly as the Cardinals took flight, the Foresters grounded them. Lake Forest scored a pair of first-period shorthanded goals and added three goals in the second period in handing SMU a 5-3 nonconference setback at the Alumni Memorial Rink in Lake Forest, Ill.
December 8, 2012: After scoring 40 goals in their first eight games, SMU decided to head out for Christmas break a little too early as the Cardinals managed just three goals in their two nonconference games against Lake Forest. Just a day after managing three goals in a 5-3 loss to the Foresters on Friday, the Cardinals came up empty on Saturday, as Lake Forest completed the nonconference sweep with a 2-0 victory at the Alumni Memorial Rink in Lake Forest, Ill. | Recap

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Foresters square off again Saturday afternoon, completing their two-game nonconference series with a 2 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Lake Forest is the fifth 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. … Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) scored a goal in both games against the Johnnies last week, while Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) accounted for SMU's other two goals on Friday, and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) and Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' other two goals on Saturday. … Brad Denney (Fishers, Ind.) picked up assists on two of SMU's three goals in its 3-2 win over Saint John's last Saturday. It was the sixth time in his career that Denney has recorded two assists in game. … Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) picked up his first collegiate multiple-point game in last Friday's 4-3 loss to SJU, collecting assists on two of SMU's three goals. … Marx — who recorded his third collegiate two-goal game with a pair of goals against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 — leads the team in goals (4) and shares the team lead in points (7) with Thompson. … Thompson also owns a team-best four assists. … Gruse, Mezzano, Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.) have all scored their first collegiate goals this season. … Eight of SMU's 19 goals this season have come on the power-play — including two of the Cardinals' three in last Saturday's 3-2 win over SJU. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) — who stopped a career-high 46 shots against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 — finished with 49 saves against the Johnnies last weekend. … Gaffy's 46 saves against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 were the most saves by a Cardinal goalie since Jason Horstman stopped 52 on Feb. 19, 2011. … Gaffy heads into this weekend's nonconference games against Lake Forest with a 2.90 goals-against-average and a .911 save percentage. … As a team, the Cardinals posted a season-high 41 shots on goal against UW-Superior on Nov. 16. … The Cardinals scored their only first-period goal thus far this season against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16. … SMU has scored eight goals in the second period and 10 in the third period this season. … On the flip side, SMU has surrendered 20 goals after the game's opening 20 minutes — 10 in the second period and 10 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 eight games this season — going 2-2-0. … Saturday's 3-2 win over Saint John's marked the first time this year the Cardinals have won when their opponent scores first (1-3-0). 

Scouting The Lake Forest Foresters:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Saint Mary's is just the third road game of the season for the Foresters, who have played five of their first seven games on their home ice. … Lake Forest's 3-2 win over Finlandia last Friday snapped their two-game losing streak. … The Foresters have sandwiched winning streaks of three games and two games around back-to-back losses to nationally ranked St. Norbert. … Lake Forest has scored three goals in three of its five wins. The Foresters have netted 15 goals in their other two victories — 5-3 and 13-2 wins over Northland. … Bobby Barrett scored three of Lake Forest's six goals against Finlandia last weekend, while Ben Certo, Mcauley Banning and Jack Lewis accounted for the other three. … With his three goals against Finlandia last weekend, Barrett pushed his team-leading goal total to eight. … Barrett also leads the team in points with 13, while Mike Violette owns a team-best six assists, one more than Charlie Stein. … Lake Forest's 29 goals have come from 12 different players, while 18 Foresters have notched at least one point. … Billy Cooper and Leo Podolsky have shared the goaltending duties, Podolsky has started four games, while Cooper has started three. … Podolsky owns a team-leading 2.80 goals-against-average and an .897 save percentage, while Cooper has a 3.18 GAA and an .862 save percentage. … Lake Forest has scored 19 of its 29 goals after the first period, while the Foresters have surrendered 11 of their 21 goals after the game's opening 20 minutes. … Lake Forest is a perfect 4-0-0 when scoring the game's first goal, but are just 1-2-0 when its opponent scores first.