WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns home on Saturday for the second game of its two-game MIAC series against St. Olaf. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-7-0 MIAC | 6-11-1 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (6-3-2 MIAC | 8-9-3 Overall)

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Last Night:
The Oles jumped out to a 3-0 lead — including getting a pair of goals from Dan Cecka — and never looked back in handing SMU a 5-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — Earlier This Year:
November 3, 2013: The Cardinals scored a pair of third-period power-play goals, while killing off six of seven St. Olaf man advantages, as SMU picked up its first win of the season, a 3-2 victory over the Oles during the MIAC Hockey Showcase at Fogerty Arena.

SMU vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
November 30, 2013: Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) each scored two goals, as the Cardinals rallied from a 3-1 deficit to beat St. Olaf 7-5 at the SMU Ice Arena.
December 1, 2013: St. Olaf — which surrendered seven goals to the high-flying Cardinals in a 7-5 Saint Mary's victory in the first game of their two-game MIAC series — grounded SMU in the rematch en route to a 5-1 Ole victory at the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on their home ice on Friday, as SMU kicks off its two-game conference series against Augsburg with a 7 p.m. conference matchup at the SMU Ice Arena. The two teams will then travel to Minneapolis, Minn., for the rematch on Saturday at 7:05 p.m. … St. Olaf returns home next weekend, hosting Concordia in a pair of conference games at the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn. The Oles and Cobbers will square off at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday. their two-game MIAC series. Puck drops at 7 p.m.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) picked up his fifth goal of the season to account for SMU's lone goal against St. Olaf on Friday. … With the goal, Thompson moved into a share of the team lead in points (11) with Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa). … Along with sharing the team lead in points, Marx also leads the team in goals with a career-high seven. … Thompson leads the team with six assists, one more than Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) and Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.). … Marx was held off the scoreboard against St. Olaf Friday, after having scored in each of SMU's last two Friday night games. … Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) was held without a point vs. Gustavus on Jan. 24, marking the first time in SMU's previous six Friday games the sophomore was held without a point. Elliott had three goals and three assists during his five-game Friday point streak. … Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) accounted for all three of the Cardinals' goals against Bethel on Jan. 18 in recording his first collegiate hat trick. … Albergo's hat trick marked the first time since Mike Glaesmer scored four goals at Hamline on Dec 6, 2008 that SMU has boasted a player with three or more goals in a game. … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Elliott, Albergo, Gruse, Wolter and Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.). … Twelve of SMU's 38 goals this season — including Friday night's vs. St. Olaf — have come on the power-play. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) finished with 45 saves against St. Olaf Friday evening — including 38 in the first two periods combined. … Gaffy's 45 saves vs. the Oles were one shy of his career-high 46-save effort against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16. … 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. … Gaffy, who leads the team with 306 saves, owns a 3.19 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who stopped a career-high 31 shots in SMU's 2-2 tie vs. MSOE on Jan. 11, enters Saturday's game against St. Olaf leading the team with a 2.85 GAA and .904 save percentage, while Mitch Fernsler (Ballwin, Mo.) has a 4.42 GAA and .857 save percentage. … As a team, the Cardinals posted a season-high 41 shots on goal against UW-Superior on Nov. 16. … The Cardinals' 4-3 loss to Bethel on Jan. 18 marked the ninth time in 18 contests that the game has been decided by two goals or less. … SMU's 2-2 tie vs. MSOE on Jan. 11 was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. … 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. … Three of SMU's five wins this season have been 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 3-8-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. 

Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 5-1 win over Saint Mary's Friday, the Oles pushed their winning streak to a season-high five straight. … St. Olaf's back-to-back wins over Bethel last weekend marked the second straight conference sweep for the Oles, who swept Hamline a week earlier. … St. Olaf has now give up one goal in its last three Friday night games combined — beating Saint Mary's 5-1 and shutting out Hamline 5-0 and Bethel 1-0. … After starting the season 1-6-1, St. Olaf has gone 7-3-2 in its last 12 contests. … The Oles have played three overtime games, with all three resulting in ties. … St. Olaf is winless (0-2) in conference shootouts. … Steven Sherman, who netted the game's only goal in St. Olaf's 1-0 win over Bethel on Jan. 24, scored one of St. Olaf's five goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday. … Dan Cecka recorded his second straight two-goal game Friday vs. SMU. Cecka also had two goals in the Oles' 4-3 come-from-behind win over Bethel last Saturday. … With his two goals against Saint Mary's, Cecka pushed his team-leading total to 14. Cecka also leads the team with 20 points. … Sherman and Jonas Fredriksson are the team's assist leaders with seven, one more than Cecka, Peter Lindblad, Marc Richards, Geoff Gieni and David Rath. … Steve Papciak — who made 18 saves vs. Saint Mary's Friday — has appeared in 16 of the team's 20 games in goal, compiling a 2.29 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage. … Papciak also owns three shutouts. … The Oles have been outscored 58-54 — including 18-12 in the first period. … St. Olaf is 5-2-1 when scoring first, but just 3-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's first goal. … St. Olaf is 4-2-2 on its home ice, while going 4-7-1 away from the Northfield Ice Arena.