WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns home to the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against league-leading, unbeaten and second-ranked Gusties. Puck drops at 2 p.m.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-8-1 MIAC | 6-11-1 Overall)
at #2 Gustavus Gusties (13-0-0 MIAC | 19-0-1 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals scored before the game was even two minutes old, but Gustavus answered by tallying three unanswered goals in handing SMU a 3-1 MIAC setback at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
February 10, 2012: If SMU had any doubts as to how good sixth-ranked Gustavus was, they got a first-hand look at the SMU Ice Arena. The Gusties are good — very, very good. Gustavus scored the game's first four goals and never looked back in handing the Cardinals an 8-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.
February 11, 2012: After surrendering eight goals in their first meeting with the nation's sixth-ranked team, SMU did its best to put the clamps on high-powered Gustavus in the rematch. The Gusties, however, would have none of it, as Gustavus broke open a one-goal game with three second-period tallies in completing its MIAC sweep of the Cardinals with a 5-0 victory at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals take to the road for both games of their two-game MIAC series against Concordia next weekend. SMU and the Cobbers square off at 7 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday at Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn. … Gustavus, meanwhile, squares off against St. Olaf next weekend — traveling to the Northfield (Minn.) Ice Arena for Friday's 7:30 p.m. game, before returning to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.,, for the 2 p.m. rematch.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) — who notched a pair of assists vs. the Blazers in SMU's 4-0 win last Friday en route to her first collegiate two-point game — scored SMU's goal against Gustavus Friday. It was the freshman's third goal of the season. … SMU has now scored 11 goals in its last five games. … Last Saturday's 2-0 loss to Saint Benedict marked just the second time this season the Cardinals have failed to score at least one goal. On the flip side, Friday's 4-0 victory was SMU's first shutout win of the season. … Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) scored two of SMU's four goals against Saint Benedict last Friday. It was the first collegiate two-goal game of Klimek's career. … Hope Karban (Oconto, Wis.) and Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) netted SMU's other goals vs. CSB last Friday. … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.), who had her three-game goal-scoring streak snapped last Friday, enters Saturday's game against Gustavus leading the team in goals (8) and points (14). … Two of Peterson's eight goals have come when SMU was shorthanded. … DeBartolo is second to Peterson in both goals (6) and points (12), while Klimek owns a team-leading seven assists. … DeBartolo recorded her first collegiate hat trick on Jan. 4, scoring all three of SMU's goals — including the game-winner in overtime — in its 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire. … DeBartolo owns two game-winning goals — with both coming in overtime. The sophomore forward also scored the game-winner in SMU's first OT win of the season against Hamline on Nov. 9. … SMU's 34 goals have come from 12 different players, including collegiate firsts from Klimek, Karban, Parent, Ehlenfeldt,  Fadness and Rory Petrisin (High Bridge, N.J.). … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) stopped 34 shots against the Gusties Friday night. … Hermann's 34-save effort was three saves shy of her career high. … Herrmann enters Saturday's rematch against Gustavus with a 2.76 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) — who stopped seven Blazer shots in each of the three periods vs. Saint Benedict en route to her first shutout of the season and fifth of her career last Friday —  owns a 2.80 GAA and an .892 save percentage. … Gustafson owns a team-leading 240 saves. … Herrmann made 20 saves against Concordia-Wis. on Oct. 27 en route to her first collegiate win. … SMU owns a 5-2-0 record when scoring first, but the Cardinals are just 1-9-1 when their opponent scores first. … After going winless (0-2-6) in eight overtime games a year ago, the Cardinals are 2-0-1 in OT games this season. SMU has beaten Hamline 2-1 and UW-Eau Claire 3-2, while tying Augsburg 3-3.

Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Gusties enter Saturday's conference game against Saint Mary's unbeaten in 20 games this season (18-0-1) and currently ranked No. 2 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … The last time Gustavus fell out of the USCHO.com Top 10 was the week of Jan. 11th, 2010. … This week is the ninth consecutive week the Gusties have been ranked No. 2 behind Plattsburgh State. … Tuesday's 1-1 tie at UW-Superior put an end to the Gusties' school-record 18-game winning streak. The previous school record for consecutive wins in a season was 17 — achieved in the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. … The Gusties are one of two unbeaten teams in all of NCAA Division III women's hockey. With a record of 20-0-2 this season, top-ranked Plattsburgh State is the only other team in the nation without a loss tagged to its record. … Tuesday's 1-1 draw with UW-Superior, however, ended GAC's reign as the only team in Division III with a completely unblemished record. … Melissa Doyle, who scored Gustavus' lone goal vs. UW-Superior Tuesday, added her seventh of the season against Saint Mary's on Friday. … Carolyn Draayer and Kayla Ingbretson accounted for GAC's other two goals vs. SMU Friday. … Lindsey Hjelm enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's owning a team-best nine assists and 17 points, while sharing the team's goal-scoring lead (8) with Meagan Wanecke. … Gustavus, which has outscored its opponents 60-19, has gotten goals from 16 different players, while 18 Gusties have recorded at least one point. … GAC has used three different goalies this season, led by Lindsey Hibbard, who has started 11 games, and owns a 1.19 goals-against-average and a .931 save percentage. Tara Hoverstad (9 GP, 0.71 GAA, .949 save percentage) and Colleen Jacoby (4 GP, 0.67 GAA, .971 save percentage) have also seen time between the pipes for the Gusties. … Gustavus has allowed more than one goal in just three of its 20 games this season — surrendering two in 3-2 wins over UW-Superior (Oct. 30) and UW-River Falls (Dec. 14), while allowing a season-high three in a 7-3 win over UW-Stevens Point (Jan. 11). … GAC has allowed just seven goals in its last nine games. … The Gusties boast a 328-87-24 all-time record — the second-winningest program in all of NCAA Division III women's hockey. … The Gusties have won 11 MIAC titles in the 14 years the conference has had women's hockey. … GAC has qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament in each of the last 10 season. … This year's 24-player roster features 21 players from Minnesota.