ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Drake Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown with St. Catherine

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2-0 MIAC | 2-4-0 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (2-1-1 MIAC | 3-3-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
St. Scholastica scored midway through the third period, breaking a 1-1 tie and leading the eighth-ranked Saints to a 2-1 nonconference win over the Cardinals on Nov. 26 at the SMU Ice Arena. … The Wildcats have been off since Nov. 22-23, when SCU split its two-game conference series against Augsburg, beating the Auggies 4-3 on Nov. 22, only to fall 5-1 the following day.

SMU vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
November 16, 2012: After picking up a pair of one-goal wins over Hamline the previous weekend, the Cardinals found themselves involved in another one-goal decision in their opening game of a two-game conference series against St. Catherine. This time around, however, the Cardinals came out on the short end, as St. Catherine scored three unanswered goals and held off SMU 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena
November 17, 2012: After holding its first five opponents scoreless in the first period, SMU surrendered three first-period goals against St. Catherine in the teams' rematch at Drake Arena — and the Cardinals never recovered, in falling to St. Catherine 4-1 in St. Paul, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Wildcats square off again on Saturday, as SMU hosts St. Catherine in a 2 p.m. conference rematch at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
SMU's nonconference game against St. Scholastica on Nov. 26 was just the second home game of the season for the Cardinals, who play five of their first seven games on the road. … The Cardinals' game against eighth-ranked St. Scholastica marked the second time this season SMU has faced a team ranked in the USCHO.com Top 10. SMU dropped an 8-2 decision to sixth-ranked Gustavus to open the season. … The Cardinals have now faced St. Scholastica twice in the program's history — with the Saints winning both games 2-1. … Heidi Martin (Ankeny, Iowa) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against the Saints on Nov. 26. … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) heads into this weekend's conference series against St. Catherine leading the team with five points. … Peterson also shares the team's goal-scoring lead (2) with Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.), Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.), McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.). … Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) is the team's assist leader with four. … Peterson recorded the fourth three-point game of her collegiate career against Saint Benedict on Nov. 23, recording a goal and two assists in SMU's 4-0 win. … Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) each scored their first collegiate goals in SMU's MIAC sweep of Saint Benedict on Nov. 22-23. … SMU now boasts four players who have scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform this season — Hannula, Lien, Cwik and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … SMU's 15 goals have come from 10 different players. … SMU has scored two shorthanded goals this season. Peterson, who led the nation with three short-handed goals a year ago, recorded her first short-handed tally in the third period against UST on Nov. 17, while Lien scored a shortie against CSB on Nov. 23 — also in the third period. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped 42 of the 43 shots she faced against Saint Benedict on Nov. 22-23 — including all 23 in recording her first shutout of the season on Nov. 23 — earning the senior MIAC Player of the Week honors. … Gustafson, who finished with 25 saves against St. Scholastica on Nov. 26, has now recorded six career shutouts — including at least one in each of her four collegiate seasons. … Gustafson heads into Friday's game vs. St. Catherine with a 2.91 goals-against-average and an .897 save percentage. … SMU has scored nine of its 15 goals in the second period. On the flip side, SMU has surrendered 15 of its 19 goals in the first two periods combined. … The Cardinals are 2-1-0 when scoring first — SMU is still looking for its first win when its opponent scores the game's first goal (0-3-0).

Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Wildcats' 5-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 23 snapped St. Catherine's four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). … SCU has outscored its opponents 8-5 in its three wins, but the Wildcats have been outscored 13-2 in their three losses. … Four of St. Catherine's first seven games have been decided by one goal or less — the Wildcats are 3-0-1 in those four contests. … Bailey Rasmussen scored three of SCU's five goals against Augsburg on Nov. 22-23, while Jordan Solheim and Zoe Verkerke also scored against the Auggies. … All three of Rasmussen's goals against Augsburg came on the power play. … Rasmussen has now scored a team-leading six goals — including four power-play tallies — in the Wildcats' first seven games. … Laurel Prodahl owns a team-best four assists, one more than Annie Buttermore and Megan Killmer. … Solheim's goal against Augsburg on Nov. 22 was the first of her collegiate career. … Samantha Geissler and Alex Hall have shared the goaltending duties for the Wildcats this season, with Hall making four strarts, while Geissler has made three. … Geissler enters Friday's game against Saint Mary's with a team-best 2.28 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage, while Hall owns a 2.81 GAA and an .895 save percentage. … SCU has outscored its opponents 4-3 in the first period, but the Wildcats have been outscored 17-8 in the second and third periods combined. … St. Catherine is unbeaten (2-0-1) when scoring first, but just 1-3-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.