WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team concludes its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Bethel on Saturday, as the Cardinals host the Royals in a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3-0 MIAC | 6-7-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (1-5-1 MIAC | 2-11-2 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Cardinals scored three of their four goals in the last seconds of a period — including one with one second left in the second stanza and two in the final 1:17 of the third — en route to a 4-1 MIAC win over Bethel Friday evening at the Schwan's Super Rink 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 take to the road for the first game of their two-game conference series against Gustavus on Friday, as SMU travels to the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 p.m. showdown. … Bethel faces St. Olaf in two conference games next weekend, as the Royals host the Oles at 7 p.m. at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., on Friday, before heading to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 rematch on Saturday.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 4-1 win over Bethel Friday, the Cardinals are now unbeaten in their last two games (1-0-1). … Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Ill.), Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) scored SMU's four goals against Bethel Friday. … Elliott has now recorded five points in SMU's last four Friday games — along with his goal vs. Bethel, the sophomore scored the Cardinals' lone goal against Concordia (Wis.) on Jan. 10, 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. … Marx's third-period goal vs. Bethel Friday was his team-leading sixth of the season — equaling his single-season career-high. … 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 in goals with four, shares the team's points lead (10) with Marx, while also leading the team with six assists. … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Elliott, Gruse, Nick Albergo (Elmurst, Ill.), 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.), who stopped a career-high 31 shots in SMU's 2-2 tie vs. MSOE on Jan. 11, finished with 29 saves in SMU's 4-1 win over Bethel Friday. … Heinle has stopped 30 or more shots twice in his five appearances this season. … Heinle heads into Saturday's rematch with Bethel owning a team-leading 2.32 goals-against-average and a .922 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. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. MSOE on Jan. 11 was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. … The Cardinals' 2-2 tie vs. MSOE on Jan. 11 was also the eighth of SMU's 13 games decided by two goals or less. …  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 3-5-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With Friday's 4-1 loss to Saint Mary's, the Royals fell to 1-3-0 in its last four games. … 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). … Tyler Sorenson scored his first goal of the season to account for the Royals' lone goal against SMU Friday. … Travis Payne and Brock Raffaele share the team lead in goals with six each, one more than Mitch Hughes. … Raffaele and Payne also lead the team in assists (7) and points (13). … Twelve different players have accounted for Bethel's 29 goals. … The Royals have scored 10 of their 29 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 2.80 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage in 11 starts. … Bethel has been outscored 47-29 — including 18-8 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 five times in its first 15 games, going 1-2-2. The Royals are 1-9-0 when their opponent scores first.