WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team, coming off a rare Wednesday evening game against St. Norbert, is right back on the ice on Friday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in the first-game of a two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4-0 MIAC | 4-8-1 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (5-1-1 MIAC | 9-2-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals got a goal and an assist from Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.), as SMU closed out its nonconference schedule with a 2-2 tie against St. Norbert Wednesday at the SMU Ice Arena. … Cristina Masten and Caroline Kivisto each scored a pair of goals in leading the Royals to a 4-2 nonconference win over Lake Forest Saturday in Lake Forest, Ill.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
February 22, 2013: The Royals' offense was clicking on all cylinders early, as Bethel scored four first-period goals and never let the Cardinals get shifted out of neutral in handing SMU a 6-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.
February 23, 2013: Through the first 22 games of her senior season, Julianne Bartosz (Mokena, Ill.) had recorded just two assists. But playing in her final collegiate game as a Cardinal, Bartosz scored her first goal of the season — and her first since her freshman year — with less than a minute to go in the first period to give SMU a 2-1 advantage over playoff-bound Bethel. Fueled by Bartosz's late first-period goal, the Cardinals added two more in the second — the first assisted by the Cardinal senior — as SMU wrote the picture-perfect ending with a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
Saint Mary's and Bethel will complete their two-game conference series on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for a 5 p.m. MIAC contest against the Royals.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Wednesday's game against St. Norbert was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who finished 2-4-1 in nonleague play. … Saturday's game against Bethel is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are 1-3-1 on their home ice. … With Wednesday's 2-2 tie against St. Norbert, the Cardinals pushed their unbeaten streak to three straight (2-0-1). … SMU collected its second series sweep of the season last weekend with its 3-0, 5-1 victories over UW-Eau Claire. The Cardinals also swept Saint Benedict (3-1 and 4-0) in late November. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) extended her consecutive-game points streak to five games with a goal and an assist vs. St. Norbert Wednesday. DeBartolo has nine points — two goals and seven assists — during her five-game streak. … DeBartolo, who recorded her first three-point game of the season — and second of her career — with a goal and two assists against UW-Eau Claire last Friday, had a hand in all five goals SMU scored in its 3-0 win over UW-Eau Claire last Friday and 2-2 tie vs. St. Norbert on Wednesday. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) accounted for SMU's other goal vs. the Green Knights Wednesday, moving the freshman into a tie for the team's goal-scoring lead (5) with Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.). … DeBartolo is the team-leader in assists (8) and points (12). … Lien had a goal and two assists in SMU's 5-1 win over UW-Eau Claire last Saturday en route to her first collegiate three-point game. … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.), who is tied with DeBartolo and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Min.) for second on the team in goals with four each, 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 boasts five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Lien, Cwik, Ingrid Curwin (Duluth, Minn.), Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … SMU's 37 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. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) stopped a career-high 36 shots in the Cardinals' 2-2 tie vs. St. Norbert Wednesday. It was the second straight game in which the freshman has stopped 30 or more shots — Shields kicked out 33 shots against Lake Forest on Jan. 6. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) stopped 34 of the 35 shots she faced in two games vs. the Blugolds last weekend — including all 21 in Friday's 3-0 victory. … Gustafson's 21-save shutout last Friday was 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 heads into Friday's showdown with Bethel with a team-best 2.61 goals-against-average and a .901 save percentage. … The Cardinals posted 52 shots on goal in their 3-0 win over UW-Eau Claire last Friday. It was the most shots on goal since Feb. 25, 2004, when the Cardinals peppered Hamline with 53 shots. … SMU's five goals in last Saturday's win over UW-Eau Claire equaled their season high. The Cardinals also netted five goals in a 6-5 loss to Lake Forest on Jan. 5. … SMU has scored 15 of its 37 goals in the second period — while netting eight goals in the first and 14 in the third period. … The Cardinals have scored first in seven of their 13 games — including three of their four wins. SMU is still looking for its first win when its opponent scores the game's first goal (0-4-1). … 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 Bethel Royals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Saturday, the Royals pushed their unbeaten streak to eight straight (6-0-2). The Royals have not lost since dropping a 1-0 decision to Concordia on Nov. 22. … The Royals' 9-2-2 start is the best in program history. … Bethel has scored four or more goals in eight of their nine wins this season — including a season-high six goals in a 6-2 win over Augsburg on Nov. 15. … Bethel currently ranks No. 1 in the MIAC in total points scored (118). The Royals are No. 1 in both goals scored (47) and assists (71), while five Bethel players are among the top six scorers in the league. … Megan O'Brian, Lindsay Burman and Kathryn Larson accounted for BU's three goals in last Friday's 3-3 tie vs. Lake Forest, while Cristina Masten and Caroline Kivisto each scored two goals in the Royals' 4-2 win over the Foresters last Saturday. … With her two tallies on Saturday, Kivisto pushed her team-leading goal total to 12, two more than Masten. … Kalle Johnson leads the team with 14 assists, while Masten boasts a team-best 21 points. … Kivisto (goals), Johnson (assists) and Masten (points) are all league leaders. … Masten is one of five BU players with 10 or more points through 14 games — Kivisto (18), Johnson (18), Larson (15) and Burman (15) are the other four. … Of their 47 goals, 12 have come on the power play and three have come while the Royals were shorthanded. On the flip side, the Royals have allowed just four power-play goals on 42 chances… Erika Allen has started 10 of the team's 13 games in goal, compiling a 1.99 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage. … Bethel has outscored its opponents 47-25 — including 19-7 in the second period and 18-10 in the third. … Bethel has scored first in eight of their 13 games — going 8-0-0 in those eight contests. The Royals are 1-2-2 when their opponent scores first.