WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns home for a rare Friday afternoon contest, as the Cardinals host UW-Eau Claire in a 3 p.m. nonconference matchup at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-8-0 Overall) vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (3-9-2 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference road games earlier this week. Lake Forest scored two goals in each of the three periods to build a 6-2 lead — then held off a furious SMU rally in the game's final five minutes — to beat the Cardinals 6-5 on Sunday, before rallying with five third-period goals to erase a 1-0 SMU advantage and complete the sweep with a 5-1 win Monday in Lake Forest, Ill. … UW-Eau Claire is coming off a pair of nonconference wins last weekend, as the Blugolds swept St. Olaf, winning 5-2 in Eau Claire, Wis., on Friday and 5-1 on Saturday in Northfield, Minn.

SMU vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
January 4, 2013: SMU gave coach Terry Mannor the perfect belated Christmas present — a one-two punch that knocked out visiting UW-Eau Claire. Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick — including scoring the game-winner 1:12 into overtime — and Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) kicked out 27 of the 29 shots she faced, as the Cardinals beat the Blugolds 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena.
January 5, 2013: SMU held high-scoring UW-Eau Claire to just two goals in beating the Blugolds 3-2 in overtime in the first game of their two-game nonconference series. Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't able to equal that feat in the teams' rematch at Hobbs Ice Arena, as UW-Eau Claire scored two goals in the game's first 11 minutes in handing SMU a 5-2 nonconference setback.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Blugolds complete their two-game nonconference series on Saturday, as SMU heads to Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., for a 2 p.m. rematch with UW-Eau Claire.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against UW-Eau Claire is the third of five straight nonconference games for the Cardinals. … Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against Lake Forest last Sunday, while Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Ile, Mich.) picked up a goal in each of the Cardinals' two games against the Foresters. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) and Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) accounted for SMU's other two goals vs. the Foresters. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) picked up assists on three of the Cardinals' six goals vs. Lake Forest. … With their goals last Sunday, Therrien and Lien moved into the team lead with four goals each, one more than Coolsaet, Cwik, Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.). … Peterson heads into this weekend's games against UW-Eau Claire holding the team lead in both assists (6) and points (9). … Peterson 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 four players who have scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform this season — Lien, Cwik, Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … SMU's 27 goals have come from 12 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 on 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. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) made her first start of the season in goal on Sunday against Lake Forest, stopping 24 shots, while Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) kicked out a 33 shots vs. the Foresters on Monday. … Shields' 33 saves against the Foresters were a career high. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) equaled Shields' 33-save season-high effort against St. Catherine on Dec. 7. … Gustafson recorded her first shutout of the season and sixth of her career — including at least one in each of her four collegiate seasons — with a 23-save effort against Saint Benedict on Nov. 23 … Gustafson heads into Friday's showdown with UW-Eau Claire with a team-best 3.26 goals-against-average and an .888 save percentage. … SMU has scored 14 of its 27 goals in the second period — while netting five goals in the first and eight in the third period. … The Cardinals have scored first in six of their 10 games — including both of their wins. SMU is still looking for its first win when its opponent scores the game's first goal (0-4-0). … 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 UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Last Friday's 5-2 win over St. Olaf snapped the Blugolds' seven-game losing streak and nine-game winless streak (0-8-1). … UWEC was outscored 28-8 during its seven-game losing streak. … With their two wins over St. Olaf last weekend, the Blugolds enter Friday's game at Saint Mary's having won back-to-back games for the first time this season. … After failing to score more than three goals in any of its first 12 games, UW-Eau Claire netted a team-high five goals in both of its wins over the Oles last weekend. … The Blugolds got scoring from five different players in each of its two wins over St. Olaf last weekend. … Hadley Cookson enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's with team highs in assists (5) and points (9), while sharing the team lead in goals (4) with Nikki Kothenbeutel. … UW-Eau Claire's 26 goals have come from 12 different players. … Paige Turner has started 11 of the team's 14 games in goal, compiling a 3.29 goals-against-average and a .914 save percentage. … Turner has stopped a team-best 363 saves. … Kim Van Brunt has appeared in five games, including three starts, and owns a 1.59 GAA and .944 save percentage. … Turner also recorded the team's lone shutout, stopping all 17 shots in a 3-0 win over St. Catherine on Nov. 8. … The Blugolds have been outscored 41-26 — including 19-7 in the second period. … UW-Eau Claire is unbeaten (3-0-2) when scoring first, but the Blugolds are winless (0-9-0) when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is the fourth of six Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents for the Blugolds, who have already played St. Catherine (W, 3-0; L, 2-1), Bethel (L, 4-1; L, 5-1) and St. Olaf (W, 5-2; W, 5-1) and are still scheduled to play St. Thomas (Jan. 14) and Hamline (Jan. 29).