WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closes out its nonconference schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 7 p.m. showdown at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7-0 Overall) vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (2-12-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
Concordia (Wis.) scored a pair of goals in both the first and third periods in handing the Cardinals a 5-1 nonconference setback Friday at the SMU Ice Arena. … MSOE surrendered a pair of first-period goals and never recovered in falling to Augsburg 3-1 in a nonconference game Friday in Minneapolis, Minn.

SMU vs. MSOE — Their Last Meeting:
November 22, 2011: It took a little longer than SMU coach Bill Moore would have liked, but you aren't going to get a more dramatic first win of the season, as the Cardinals got a goal from Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) three minutes into overtime, lifing SMU to a 2-1 nonconference victory over No. 8 Milwaukee School of Engineering at the SMU Ice Arena.
November 23, 2011: Less than 24 hours after knocking off the nation's eighth-ranked team in overtime, SMU was again looking for some late-game heroics. This time around, however, No. 8 Milwaukee School of Engineering would have nothing to do with that, as the Raiders — staked to a 3-0 lead after the game's opening two periods — added three more third-period goals in handing the Cardinals a 6-0 nonconference setback at the SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, as SMU squares off against Bethel in a two-game conference series. SMU heads to the Schwan's Super Rink on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest, before hosting the Royals on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena. … MSOE takes on Lawrence in a pair of NCHA games next weekend — Friday's contest on the Raiders' home ice in Milwaukee, Wis., while Saturday's will be held in Appleton, Wis.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Concordia (Wis.) was the Cardinals' first contest since Dec. 10. … The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to Lawrence in their last action before the semester break on Dec. 10 snapped their season-high three-game winning streak. … Three of the five goals scored by Concordia (Wis.) Friday came on the power play. … Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Ill.) scored SMU's lone goal against Concordia (Wis.) Friday. … 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, Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) and Mike Wolter (Antigo, Wis.). … Eleven of SMU's 26 goals this season have come on the power-play. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) — who stopped a career-high 46 shots against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 16 — heads into Saturday's nonconference game against MSOE with a 2.98 goals-against-average, a .908 save percentage and a team-leading 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. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who picked up his first collegiate win in his first collegiate start — stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced in SMU's 2-1 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 30 — owns a 3.01 GAA and a .899 save percentage in three appearances. … 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. … Eight of SMU's 12 games have been decided by two goals or less. … SMU is 3-2-0 when scoring first and 2-5-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.  . 

Scouting The Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight road contest for the Raiders, who are in the midst of playing five of six contests away from home. … After opening the season with nine straight losses, the Raiders have gone 2-3-0 in their last five contests. … The Raiders have held their opponent to one goal in both of their wins this season — beating Northland 5-1 and Plymouth State 3-1. … MSOE's 5-1 win over Northland on Dec. 7 snapped their season-opening nine-game losing streak. … After scoring three goals in a season-opening 4-3 loss to St. Scholastica, the Raiders have managed just five goals in their other 11 losses combined. … Nick LaRue netted MSOE's lone goal against the Auggies Friday. … Gage Christianson enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (3) and points (6), while sharing the team's assist lead (3) with Dan Sherer. … Nick Kohn and Austin Campbell have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Kohn — who stopped 36 Auggie shots in Friday's 3-1 loss — posting a 4.04 goals-against-average and an .876 save percentage in nine starts, while Campbell owns a 1.62 GAA and a .929 save percentage in four starts. … MSOE has scored five goals in each of the first two periods, while netting six goals in the third stanza this season. On the flip side, the Raiders have surrendered 10 goals in the first period, 21 in the second and 17 in the third. … Both of MSOE's wins have come away from home, the Raiders are 0-8-0 on their home ice.