WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team kicks off the 2014 portion of its schedule with a pair of nonconference games this weekend, beginning Friday with a 7 p.m. showdown with Concordia (Wis.) at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-6-0 Overall) vs. Concordia (Wis.) Falcons (6-4-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals surrendered four power-play goals — two in the first period and two more in the third — as Lawrence handed SMU a 5-2 nonconference setback on Dec. 10 at the Appleton Family Ice Center in Appleton, Wis. … Concordia (Wis.) returned to action after its lengthy holiday break on a high note Tuesday, as the Falcons held off Lake Forest 6-4 at Alumni Memorial Rink in Lake Forest, Ill.

SMU vs. Concordia (Wis.) — Their Last Meeting:
Friday's game will be the first against Concordia (Wis.) in program history.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Saturday, as SMU hosts Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena. … Concordia (Wis.) is also back in action on Saturday, as the Falcons head to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 4:05 nonconference game against Augsburg.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to Lawrence in their last action before the semester break snapped their season-high three-game winning streak. … Six of the seven goals scored in SMU's 5-2 setback at Lawrence came on the power play — including both of the Cardinals' goals. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) and Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) accounted for SMU's two goals vs. Lawrence on Dec. 10. … Marx's second-period goal vs. the Vikings was his team-leading fifth of the season — one shy of his single-season career-high of six, set last season. … Marx recorded his third collegiate two-goal game with a pair of goals against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16. … Thompson, who is second to Marx in goals with four, leads the team with nine points — one more than Marx. … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Ill.), Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.). … Elliott has recorded three points in SMU's last two Friday games — having notched his first collegiate multiple-point game with a pair of assists in SMU's 4-3 loss to Saint John's on Nov. 22, before netting his first collegiate goal vs. Lake Forest a week later. … Brad Denney (Fishers, Ind.) picked up assists on two of SMU's three goals in its 3-2 win over Saint John's on Nov. 23. It was the sixth time in his career that Denney has recorded two assists in game. … Eleven of SMU's 25 goals this season — including both against Lawrence in its 5-2 loss on Dec. 10 — have come on the power-play. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) — who stopped a career-high 46 shots against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 — heads into Friday's nonconference game against Concordia (Wis.) with a 2.66 goals-against-average, a .917 save percentage and a team-leading 262 saves. … 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. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who picked up his first collegiate win in his first collegiate start — stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in SMU's 2-1 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 30 — owns a 3.00 GAA and a .900 save percentage in two starts. … As a team, the Cardinals posted a season-high 41 shots on goal against UW-Superior on Nov. 16. … The Cardinals' four goals in a 6-4 loss against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 were the most in a loss since scoring four in a 5-4 overtime setback against Augsburg on Jan. 28, 2012. … All three of SMU's wins in their season-high three-game winning streak were by one goal — a 3-2 win over Saint John's and back-to-back 2-1 victories over Lake Forest. … Eight of SMU's 11 games have been decided by two goals or less. … The Cardinals have scored two goals in each of their last three games. … SMU is 3-2-0 when scoring first and 2-4-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. 

Scouting The Concordia (Wis.) Falcons:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saint Mary's is the second of three Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents for the Falcons, who tied (5-5) and beat (4-2) Bethel earlier this year, and are scheduled to play Augsburg on Saturday. … With their 6-4 win over Lake Forest on Tuesday, the Falcons pushed their winning streak to a season- and program-high four straight. CUW is also 4-0-1 in its last five games. … Concordia (Wis.) has scored 22 goals during its current four-game winning streak — including a season-high eight goals in an 8-2 win over Finlandia on Dec. 7. … Dylan Hutton scored two of Concordia's six goals against Lake Forest Tuesday, with Brett Penner, Devin Stuermer, Matt Gates and Josh Herrington accounting for the other four. … With their goals Tuesday, Stuermer and Penner moved into a tie for the team lead (6) with Chris Hughes. … Stuermer also leads the team in both assists (9) and points (15). … Concordia's 49 goals have come from 15 different players, while 22 Falcons have recorded at least one point. … The Falcons have used three different goalies this season. Domingo Torrenueva, who made 43 saves against the Foresters Tuesday, leads the way with a 2.88 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage in seven appearances, while Jake Hebda has a 3.54 GAA and a .907 save percentage in five starts, and Morgan Hudson owns a 5.25 GAA and an .831 save percentage in four starts. … The Falcons have outscored their opponents 49-48, holding a 17-12 advantage in the third period. … CUW is unbeaten (5-0-1) when scoring first, and just 1-4-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … CUW has played four overtime games this season, with the Falcons going 1-0-3. … Concordia's six wins this season are one shy of the program-record seven, posted a year ago. … Concordia (Wis.) has faced three teams who were nationally ranked at the time of their meeting — tying No. 14 St. Scholastica twice (5-5 and 4-4), while falling to No. 5 Adrian twice (7-0 and 3-1) and No. 1 UW-Eau Claire (7-0). … Friday's matchup with Saint Mary's is the fourth of five straight road games for the Falcons.