WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team is back on its home ice on Friday, as the Cardinals host nationally ranked and league-leading Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5-0 MIAC | 5-9-1 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (8-0-0 MIAC | 10-3-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals earned a split in their conference series against Bethel last weekend. SMU got goals from Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) — LeTourneau's with 45 seconds remaining in regulation — as SMU topped BU 2-1 on Friday at the SMU Ice Arena, while Bethel turned the tables a day later, blanking SMU 2-0 in Blaine, Minn. … Gustavus strengthened its hold on the top spot in the conference standings with a 5-2, 3-2 sweep of Augsburg last weekend.

SMU vs. Gustavus — Their Last Meeting:
November 2, 2013: Gustavus, which went 24-0-1 during the regular season a year ago — including a perfect 18-0-0 run through the conference schedule — had its high-octane offense running in high gear, handing SMU an 8-2 season-opening nonconference setback at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
February 8, 2013: SMU did something very few teams have done against Gustavus all season — score first. In fact, Macki Fadness' (Eau Claire, Wis.) first-period goal marked just the second time in 20 games that the second-ranked Gusties had not scored first. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, all Fadness' goal did was wake a sleeping giant, as Gustavus scored three unanswered goals — one in each period — in handing SMU a 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Don Roberts Ice Arena.
February 9, 2013: For the second game in a row, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) found the back of the net for SMU. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, for the second straight day, Fadness' goal was their only one, as league-leading and No. 2-ranked Gustavus completed its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep, dropping SMU 6-1 at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals travel to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., Saturday for the second game of their two-game MIAC series against the Gusties. Game time is set for 2 p.m.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
SMU's 2-0 loss to Bethel snapped the Cardinals' season-high four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). … Friday's setback also marked the first time this season the Cardinals have been held without at least one goal. … Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) accounted for SMU's two goals in last Friday's win over Bethel. … Fadness has now scored a goal in two of the Cardinals' last four games. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) had her five-game point-scoring streak snapped last Friday against Bethel. DeBartolo had nine points — two goals and seven assists — during her career-high five-game point 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 on Jan. 10, had a hand in all five goals SMU scored in its 3-0 win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 10 and 2-2 tie vs. St. Norbert on Jan. 15. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) shares the team lead in goals (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 on Jan. 11 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 — and is second to DeBartolo in points with 11 — 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 39 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 a season-high 39 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over Bethel last Friday. … Gustafson, who leads the team with 257 saves, enters this weekend's games against Gustavus boasting a team-best 2.40 goals-against-average and .911 save percentage. … Gustafson has posted two shutouts this season and owns seven shutouts in her collegiate career — including at least one in each of her four seasons. … Fellow goalie Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) stopped a career-high 36 shots in the Cardinals' 2-2 tie vs. St. Norbert on Jan. 15. 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. … The Cardinals posted a season-high 52 shots on goal in their 3-0 win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 10. It was the most shots on goal since Feb. 25, 2004, when the Cardinals peppered Hamline with 53 shots. … SMU's five goals in its 5-1 Jan. 11 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 30 of its 39 goals after the first period — netting 15 goals in the second and 15 more in the third. … The Cardinals have scored first in eight of their 15 games — including four of their five wins. SMU is still looking for its first win when its opponent scores the game's first goal (0-4-1). … SMU collected its second series sweep of the season with its 3-0, 5-1 victories over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. Jan. 10-11. The Cardinals also swept Saint Benedict (3-1 and 4-0) in late November. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
The Gusties — ranked No. 7 in the latest USCHO.com national poll — enter Friday's game against Saint Mary's having won 24 straight conference games over the last two seasons. … With their sweep of Augsburg, Gustavus pushed its current winning streak to three straight. … GAC dropped two of its three games this season with back-to-back losses to UW-River Falls (3-0) and UW-Stevens Point (5-2). … GAC's 3-0 loss to UW-River Falls snapped the Gusties' season-high eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2). … GAC's loss to UW-River Falls marked the first time in the last 94 games that the Gusties had been shut out, dating back to a Dec. 3, 2010 loss to St. Thomas. … Allison Eder-Zdechilk enters this weekend's series against Saint Mary's owning the team lead in goals (12) and points (18). … Eder-Zdechilk is one of four Gusties with 10 or more points — Melissa Doyle (12), Amanda Cartony (11) and Courtney Boucher (11) are the other three. … Boucher is the team-leader in assists with 10, one more than Cartony. … Gustavus has used four different goalies this season, led by Lindsey Hibbard, who boasts a 1.27 goals-against-average and a .937 save percentage in nine appearances. … Hibbard also leads the team with 148 saves. … Gustavus is 4-2-1 on its home ice, while owning a 6-1-1 record away from Don Roberts Ice Arena. … Gustavus, which is 9-1-1 when scoring the game's first goal — has outscored its opponents 48-25, including 21-10 in the third period. … Gustavus' eight goals in their season-opening 8-2 win Saint Mary's are a season-high. … GAC captured its ninth straight MIAC regular-season and 10th consecutive MIAC playoff championships a year ago. … GAC went 24-0-1 during the regular season, including a perfect 18-0-0 run through the conference schedule — marking the first unbeaten regular-season in Gustie women's hockey history. … GAC made its 10th straight NCAA national tournament appearance a year ago, advancing to the national semifinals for the fourth year in a row.