ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team hits the road for a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against Saint John's this weekend. Puck drops at 7 p.m. on Friday and again at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the National Hockey Center.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-4-1 MIAC | 7-11-1 Overall)
at Saint John's Johnnies (4-3-3 MIAC | 9-6-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped both of their conference games against Augsburg last weekend. The Auggies erupted for six first-period goals — outscoring SMU 6-3 in the game's first 20 minutes — in handing the Cardinals a 7-3 MIAC setback at Ed Saugestad Arena in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, then completed the sweep with a 2-0 victory in the rematch at the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday. … Saint John's, meanwhile, went 1-0-1 in its conference showdown with Hamline last weekend. The Pipers scored the game-tying goal with 56 seconds remaining in regulation to earn HU a 1-1 tie with Saint John's on Friday in Vadnais Heights, Minn., while the Johnnies erupted for three goals in a span of five minutes in the third period en route to a 5-1 win on Saturday at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn.

SMU vs. Saint John's — Earlier This Year:
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. 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.

SMU vs. Saint John's — A Year Ago:
February 3, 2012: For the third straight game — and the 13th time this season — the Cardinals were involved in a one-goal game. Unfortunately, for the third straight game — and 12th time this season — it was SMU that came out on the short end, as Saint John's scored the eventual game-winner four minutes into the third period in escaping the SMU Ice Arena with a 3-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.
February 4, 2012: SMU put together 15 minutes of its best hockey of the season in the Cardinals' rematch against the Johnnies. Unfortunately for SMU, the Johnnies erupted for three goals in the game's first 45 minutes — then hung on to hold off the Cardinals furious third-period comeback in beating Saint Mary's 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Johnnies are back on the ice on Saturday, as SJU hosts SMU in the second game of the teams' two-game MIAC series. Game time is set for 2 p.m. at the National Hockey Center.

MIAC Playoff Chase:
With three weekends remaining in the regular season, the race for all five conference tournament berths is still up for grabs. St. Olaf — thanks to a sweep of St. Thomas last weekend — leads the league with 16 points (8-2-0), one point in front of the Tommies (7-4-1). Concordia is third with 12 points (6-6-0), with Saint John's (4-3-3) and Saint Mary's (5-4-1) tied for fourth with11 points. Bethel (5-5-0, 10 points), Augsburg (3-5-2, 8 points) and Gustavus (3-5-2, 8 points) are currently on the outside looking in.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Cardinals play three of their next four games — including both games this weekend — on the road. … Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.), Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) and Tommy Robaczewski (Arlington Heights, Ill.) accounted for SMU's three goals against Augsburg last Friday, while Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) kicked out a career-high 33 shots in last Saturday's 2-0 loss to the Auggies. … The Cardinals have posted 10 multiple-goal games this season. Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) has four, Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) has two, and Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.), Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.), Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) have each recorded one. … Hill enters this weekend's games at Saint John's as the team-leader in goals (11), assists (10) and points (21). … SMU boasts seven players with 10 or more points through 19 games — Hill (21), Thompson (16), Balko (14), Marx (13), Wentland (13), McGlasson (11), and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn. / 10). … SMU's 54 goals have come from 16 different players, while 21 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … After scoring just one shorthanded goal all of last season, SMU has netted six shorthanded goals this season. … The six shorthanded goals are the most since SMU tallied a school-record seven shorties during the 1991-92 season. … Gaffy has now stopped 30 or more shots in each of his last three starts and enters the weekend showdown against Saint John's with a 3.29 goals-against-average and an .893 save percentage. … Andy Scheib — owner of a 3.76 GAA and an .874 save percentage — stopped all 38 shots he faced vs. St. Thomas on Jan. 18 en route to his first collegiate shutout. … Scheib's 38 saves were three shy of his career high. … SMU's 0-0 tie vs. the Tommies on Jan. 18 marked the first time in program history the Cardinals played to a scoreless tie. … With their sweep of Bethel on Jan. 11-12, the Cardinals have now swept two of their five conference series this season. The last time SMU recorded two conference sweeps in the same season was late in the 2005-2006 season, when the Cardinals swept Hamline (2-1 and 3-0) and St. Olaf (3-2, 3-2). … With their two wins against Bethel, SMU has outscored its opponents 43-15 in its seven victories this season. …  The Cardinals scored a season-high nine goals in their 9-2 rout of Hamline on Nov. 9. … SMU's nine goals against the Pipers are the most since SMU erupted for 14 goals in a 14-3 win over Concordia during the 2006-07 season. … The Cardinals have scored first in seven of their 19 games — including five of their wins. … The Cardinals are 2-9-0 when their opponent scores first. … With their 0-0 tie against St. Thomas on Jan. 18, the Cardinals improved to 4-2-1 on their home ice.

Scouting the Saint John's Johnnies:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With their 1-1 tie and 5-1 win over Hamline last weekend, the Johnnies pushed their unbeaten streak to six (3-0-3). … SJU has allowed just eight goals during their six-game unbeaten streak — including single goals in each of the last five contests. … Saint John's five goals in last Saturday's 5-1 win over Hamline was its highest offensive output since scoring five in back-to-back wins over Concordia-Wis. on Dec. 7-8. … SJU's 1-1 tie vs. Hamline last Friday was its fifth overtime game of the season. The Johnnies are now 1-0-4 in OT games. … Trent Johnson scored SJU's lone goal in last Friday's 1-1 tie vs. Hamline, while John Haeg scored twice, with Jason Johnson, Nick Senta and Phil Johnson accounting for the Johnnies' other three goals in Saturday's 5-1 victory. … Phil Johnson's goal was part of a four-point night for the sophomore, who also assisted on three of SJU's five goals in Saturday's win. …  With his two goals vs. Hamline, Haeg pushed his team-leading goal total to nine. Haeg also leads the team in assists (10) and points (19). … Haeg is one of five Johnnies with 10 or more points heading into the weekend series with Saint Mary's — Jascha Pettit (14), Phil Johnson (12), Justin Hochsprung (11) and Michael Palmiscno (10) are the other four. … SJU's 51 goals have come from 17 different players, while 22 Johnnies have recorded at least one point. … Sexton Soley finished with 46 saves in the two games vs. Hamline last weekend. … Soley has started 12 of the team's 19 games in goal, compiling a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. … Soley has allowed one goal in each of his last four starts in improving his record to 8-3-1. … Saint John's has been outscored 11-8 in the first period, but have outscored its opponents 43-33 after the game's opening 20 minutes. … The Johnnies are unbeaten (5-0-2) when scoring first. SJU is 4-6-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint John's enters this weekend's two home games against Saint Mary's boasting a 4-1-1 mark at the National Hockey Center this season. …