BLAINE, Minn. — After five straight nonconference games, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns to MIAC play Friday, traveling to the Schwan's Super Rink for a 7:30 p.m. showdown with Bethel.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3-0 MIAC | 5-7-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (1-4-1 MIAC | 2-10-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals closed out nonconference play last Saturday, getting a goal from Nick Gualano (Prospect Heights, Ill.) five minutes into the third period to rally SMU to a 2-2 overtime tie with Milwaukee School of Engineering at the SMU Ice Arena. … Bethel scored three times in the third period and held off a late Finlandia rally to beat the Lions 4-3 in nonconference play last Saturday in Blaine, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
October 27, 2012: SMU erupted for six goals in the first two periods and never looked back in handing Bethel a 7-2 nonconference setback during the MIAC Men's Hockey Showcase at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minn.
January 11, 2013: It didn't take long to realize that Saint Mary's and Bethel didn't like each other very much. And, after 60 minutes and 79 minutes in penalties, it was also a pretty safe bet that the Royals like the Cardinals even less. SMU scored four unanswered goals — including two in the second period — to hand league-leading Bethel a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena.
January 12, 2013: For the second night in a row, Bethel scored first and SMU answered for a 1-1 tie after one period. For the second night in a row, SMU added two goals in the second period and pushed that advantage to 4-1 in the third. The only difference — the Cardinals' offense wasn't done, as Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) scored his second goal of the night with just over two minutes remaining to complete the Cardinals 5-1 MIAC victory and sweep of the league-leading Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink.

Up Next:
The Cardinals will return home on Saturday, hosting Bethel in the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Last Saturday's game against Milwaukee School of Engineering was the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who went 4-4-1 vs. non-MIAC opponents. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. the Raiders Saturday was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. … Saturday's game was also the eighth of SMU's 13 games decided by two goals or less. … Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Ill.) scored SMU's lone goal against Concordia (Wis.) last Friday, while Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Nick Gualano (Prospect Heights, Ill.) accounted for SMU's two goals vs. MSOE. … Elliott has now recorded four points in SMU's last three Friday games — along with his goal vs. Concordia (Wis.), the sophomore 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. … Bob Marx's (Sioux City, Iowa) second-period goal vs. Lawrence on Dec. 10 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. … Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.), 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 — Elliott, Albergo, Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) and Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.). … Eleven of SMU's 28 goals this season have come on the power-play. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) stopped a career-high 31 shots in SMU's 2-2 tie vs. MSOE Saturday. It was the second time in four appearances that the freshman has kicked out 30 or more shots. … Heinle heads into Friday's conference game against Bethel with a team-leading 2.68 goals-against-average and a .911 save percentage. … Fellow goalie Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) — who stopped a career-high 46 shots against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 — takes a 2.98 goals-against-average, a .908 save percentage into the weekend series vs. Bethel. … Gaffy leads the team with 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. … 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. … SMU is 3-2-1 when scoring first and 2-5-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. 

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's 4-3 win over Finlandia snapped the Royals' two-game losing streak. … Twelve of Bethel's 14 games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including 10 decided by one goal or less. … Both of the Royals' wins this season have been by one goal — 2-1 over Hamline on Dec. 6 and 4-3 over Finlandia last Saturday. … The Royals' 2-1 win over Hamline on Dec. 6 snapped their season-opening 10-game winless streak (0-8-2). … BU's four goals vs. Finlandia last Saturday came from four different players — Mitch Hughes, Travis Payne, Brock Raffaele and Andrew Bjorklund. … With their goals vs. Finlandia, Raffaele and Payne moved into the team lead in goals with six each, one more than Hughes. … Raffaele and Payne also lead the team in assists (7) and points (13). … Eleven different players have accounted for Bethel's 28 goals. … The Royals have scored 10 of their 27 goals on the power play. … Payne and Hughes have each scored three power-play goals. … Bethel has used three different goalies this season, with Steven Bolton leading the way, compiling a 2.78 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage in 10 starts. … Bethel has been outscored 43-28 — including 16-7 in the first period. … The Royals have played four overtime games, going 0-2-2 — BU lost to St. Thomas (3-2) and Augsburg (2-1), while tying Augsburg (3-3) and Concordia (Wis.) (5-5). … Bethel has scored first just four times in its first 14 games, going 1-1-2. The Royals are 1-9-0 when their opponent scores first.