WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its regular season — and looks to lock up an MIAC post-season berth — on its home ice this weekend, as the Cardinals host Concordia in a two-game conference series, beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-7-1 MIAC | 8-14-1 Overall)
vs. Concordia Cobbers (8-6-0 MIAC | 11-11-1 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program | Senior Salute

Last Action:
The Cardinals came up empty in their two-game MIAC series against Gustavus last weekend. The Gusties scored the game's first three goals and never let the Cardinals back into the game, handing SMU a 4-1 conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday. GAC then completed the sweep with a 5-2 conference win at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday. … Concordia, meanwhile, picked up a huge conference sweep over Hamline last weekend in Moorhead, Minn. CC opened the two-game series with a 5-3 victory, then added a 3-2 win the following day.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
February 17, 2012: Concordia, needing at least a win and a tie in its two-game series vs. Saint Mary's to earn a spot in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs for the second year in a row, proved to be no match for the high-flying Cardinals, as SMU got goals from five different players in cruising to a 5-1 victory at the Moorhead Sports Center.
February 18, 2012: After scoring a season-high five goals in a 5-2 win over Concordia in their first meeting, SMU was looking for a repeat performance when the two teams squared off again at the Moorhead Sports Center. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' six-shooters fired nothing but blanks — while the Cobbers came out with guns a blazing, scoring five goals in a 13-minute span of the second period in handing SMU a 7-0, season-ending setback.

Up Next:
Saint Mary's and Concordia close out the regular-season schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals host the Cobbers in a 2 p.m. conference game at the SMU Ice Arena.

MIAC Playoff Chase:
St. Thomas (8-4-3 MIAC, 19 points), St. Olaf (9-5-0 MIAC, 18 points) and Saint John's (7-4-3, 17 points have all locked up post-season berths, while Concordia, Gustavus and Saint Mary's are all battling for the remaining two spots. Gustavus (7-5-2 MIAC, 16 points) squares off against St. Olaf this weekend, and is currently tied for fourth with Concordia (8-6-0 MIAC, 16 points), with both controlling their own destinies. Thanks to St. Thomas' 4-2 win over Augsburg Thursday — which eliminated Augsburg from post-season contention — Saint Mary's (6-7-1 MIAC, 13 points) would earn a playoff berth berth with a sweep of the Cobbers. Any less than a sweep, however, and the Cardinals would be left on the outside looking in.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
SMU heads into its final two games of the regular season boasting eight wins, the most since the Cardinals went 9-14-2 during the 2007-08 season. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) scored his fifth goal of the season to account for SMU's lone goal against Gustavus last Friday, while Nic Gualano (Prospect Heights, Ill.) and Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) found the back of the net in Saturday's rematch vs. the Gusties. … Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) assisted on both of SMU's goals vs. Gustavus last Saturday. … Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) enters this weekend's games against Concordia as the team-leader in goals (11), assists (10) and points (21). … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) is second on the team in all three offensive categories with nine goals, nine assists and 18 points. … The Cardinals have posted 10 multiple-goal games this season. Hill has four, Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) has two, and Thompson, Marx, Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.), and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) have each recorded one. … SMU boasts seven players with 10 or more points through 23 games — Hill (21), Thompson (18), Balko (16), Marx (14), Wentland (14), McGlasson (11), and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn. / 10). … SMU's 64 goals have come from 16 different players, while 21 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Thompson's overtime goal against Saint John's on Feb. 3 was his second game-winning goal of the season. SMU's other six game-winning goals have come from six different players. … Thompson's OT tally vs. the Johnnies was SMU's seventh shorthanded goal of the season, tying the school record set during the 1991-92 season. … Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.), who stopped 32 shots in recording his first win in goal this season against Saint John's on Feb. 2, kicked out a season-high 35 GAC shots Friday — including 18 in the second period. … Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) nearly equaled Horstman's Friday effort, stopping 34 shots in the Cardinals' rematch with GAC on Saturday. … SMU has used three different goalies this season. Scheib enters this weekend's games vs. Concordia owning a team-best 3.78 goals-against-average and an .876 save percentage. Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) has compiled a 3.87 GAA and an .874 save percentage, while Horstman has posted a 4.45 GAA and an .876 save percentage. … Scheib 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. … The Cardinals' 2-1 win over Saint John's on Feb. 2 was their second overtime contest in their last seven games — SMU battled St. Thomas to a 0-0 OT tie on Jan. 18. … The overtime victory over the Johnnies was SMU's first since Nov. 22, 2011, when the Cardinals knocked off then-11th ranked MSOE 2-1. … SMU's OT win over SJU also snapped a four-game winless streak in overtime games (0-1-3). … 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. … SMU has outscored its opponents 47-17 in its eight 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 23 games — including five of their eight wins. … The Cardinals are 3-12-0 when their opponent scores first. … With their 0-0 tie against St. Thomas on Jan. 18, the Cardinals moved to 4-2-1 on their home ice.

Scouting the Concordia Cobbers:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
With their 5-3, 3-2 sweep of Hamline last weekend, the Cobbers enter Friday's game against Saint Mary's riding a three-game winning streak. … CC heads to Saint Mary's having played its last six games on its home ice. … Last Saturday's 3-2 win over Hamline was their eighth MIAC win of the season — the most conference wins since Concordia went 9-6-1 during the 2001-02 campaign. … The Cobbers got scoring from five different players — Tucker Coburn, Caleb Suderman, Ben Payne, Andrew Deters and Jordie Bancroft — in last Friday's 5-3 win over Hamline. … Coburn added two more goals in Saturday's 3-2 win — including the game-winner midway through the third period — while Bancroft accounted for the other goal in the 3-2 win. … Bancroft enters the final weekend of the regular season leading the Cobbers in goals (11) and points (21), while sharing the team's assist lead (10) with Payne and Dan Hrabowych. … CC boasts seven players with 10 or more points — Bancroft (21), Payne (17), Brian Kang (15), Hrabowych (15), Andrew Deters (14), Coburn (14) and Suderman (11). … Three of Coburn's five goals this season have been game-winners. … Chris Neamonitis, who stopped 48 shots in picking up the two wins in goal last weekend vs. Hamline, has appeared in 21 of the team's 23 games this season. … Neamonitis owns a 2.14 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage. … After winning just seven career games in his first two seasons, Neamonitis has 11 wins this season. … CC has been outscored 27-21 in the second period, but the Cobbers own a 32-21 edge in the third period. … Concordia has played four overtime games this season, going 2-1-1. The Cobbers beat St. Olaf (2-1) and UW-Eau Claire (2-1), lost to Northland (5-4) and tied Hamline (5-5). … CC scored a season-high six goals in a 6-2 win over Augsburg on Jan. 12, while surrendering a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 loss to Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Concordia is 6-4-1 when scoring first, while going 5-7-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.