EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team closes out its two-game nonconference series against UW-Eau Claire on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Hobbs Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. showdown with the Blugolds.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-8-0 Overall) vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (3-10-2 Overall)

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Last Night:
Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) had a goal and two assists and Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped all 21 shots she faced in leading the Cardinals to a 3-0 nonconference win over UW-Eau Claire at the SMU Ice Arena.

SMU vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
January 4, 2013: SMU gave coach Terry Mannor the perfect belated Christmas present — a one-two punch that knocked out visiting UW-Eau Claire. Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick — including scoring the game-winner 1:12 into overtime — and Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) kicked out 27 of the 29 shots she faced, as the Cardinals beat the Blugolds 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena.
January 5, 2013: SMU held high-scoring UW-Eau Claire to just two goals in beating the Blugolds 3-2 in overtime in the first game of their two-game nonconference series. Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't able to equal that feat in the teams' rematch at Hobbs Ice Arena, as UW-Eau Claire scored two goals in the game's first 11 minutes in handing SMU a 5-2 nonconference setback.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Wednesday, as SMU hosts St. Norbert in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena. … UW-Eau Claire is back on the ice on Tuesday, as the Blugolds host St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Hobbs Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game at UW-Eau Claire is the fourth of five straight nonconference games for the Cardinals. … The Cardinals put an end to their season-high five-game losing streak with Friday's 3-0 win over UW-Eau Claire. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her first three-point game of the season — and second of her career — with a goal and two assists against UW-Eau Claire Friday. … Ingrid Curwin (Duluth, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate goal against the Blugolds Friday, while Jess Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) accounted for SMU's other goal vs. UWEC. … Curwin became the fifth Cardinal to record her first collegiate goal this season, joining Cwik, Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.), Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … With her goal vs. UW-Eau Claire, Cwik moved into a tie with Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Lien for the team lead in goals with four each, one more than Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Ile, Mich.), Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.). … Peterson heads into Saturday's rematch against UW-Eau Claire holding the team lead in both assists (6) and points (9). … 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. … SMU's 30 goals have come from 13 different players. … SMU has scored three shorthanded goals this season — with Lien accounting for two of them. The freshman scored her first shorthanded tally against Saint Benedict on Nov. 23, then added her second against Lake Forest last Sunday. … Peterson, who led the nation with three short-handed goals a year ago, netted SMU's other shortie vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 17. … All three of SMU's shorthanded goals have come in the third period. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped all 21 shots she faced on Friday en route to her second shutout of the season and seventh of her collegiate career. … Gustafson has notched at least one shutout in each of her four seasons. … Gustafson and Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) have each notched a season-high 33 saves in a game this season — Gustafson's coming against St. Catherine on Dec. 7, while Shields kicked out 33 shots against Lake Forest last Monday. … Gustafson heads into Saturday's showdown with UW-Eau Claire with a team-best 2.82 goals-against-average and a .900 save percentage. … SMU has scored 14 of its 30 goals in the second period — while netting five goals in the first and 11 in the third period. … The Cardinals put 52 shots on the Blugold goal Friday — it was the most since posting 53 shots against Hamline on Feb. 25, 2004. … The Cardinals have scored first in seven of their 11 games — including all three of their wins. SMU is still looking for its first win when its opponent scores the game's first goal (0-4-0). … SMU's Nov. 26 game against ninth-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.

Scouting The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's loss to Saint Mary's was the Blugolds ninth in their last 11 games (1-9-1). … Last Friday's 5-2 win over St. Olaf snapped the Blugolds' seven-game losing streak and nine-game winless streak (0-8-1). … UWEC was outscored 28-8 during its seven-game losing streak. … Friday's loss to Saint Mary's, snapped the Blugolds' two-game winning streak — it was the first time this season UWEC had won back-to-back games. … UW-Eau Claire has failed to score more than three goals in 13 of its 15 games — with the Blugolds' back-to-back five-goal efforts the only exceptions. … The Blugolds got scoring from five different players in each of its two wins over St. Olaf last weekend. … Hadley Cookson enters Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's with team highs in assists (5) and points (9), while sharing the team lead in goals (4) with Nikki Kothenbeutel. … UW-Eau Claire's 26 goals have come from 12 different players. … Paige Turner has started 12 of the team's 15 games in goal,  compiling a 3.27 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. … Turner has made a team-best 412 saves — including 49 against SMU Friday. … Kim Van Brunt has appeared in five games, including three starts, and owns a 1.59 GAA and .944 save percentage. … Turner also recorded the team's lone shutout, stopping all 17 shots in a 3-0 win over St. Catherine on Nov. 8. … The Blugolds have been outscored 44-26 — including 19-7 in the second period. … UW-Eau Claire is unbeaten (3-0-2) when scoring first, but the Blugolds are winless (0-10-0) when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is the fourth of six Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents for the Blugolds, who have already played St. Catherine (W, 3-0; L, 2-1), Bethel (L, 4-1; L, 5-1) and St. Olaf (W, 5-2; W, 5-1) and are still scheduled to play St. Thomas (Jan. 14) and Hamline (Jan. 29).