MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn.  — After three straight home games, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team hits the road on Saturday, traveling to the St. Thomas Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Thomas.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC | 0-3-0 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (1-0-0 MIAC | 2-1-0 Overall)
 
Last Night:
• St. Thomas scored two goals in both the first and third periods in handing the Cardinals a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in the teams' conference opener at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• November 16, 2013:  Saint Mary's had St. Thomas on the ropes, as the Cardinals scored the game's first two goals and held a 3-2 advantage late in the second period. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the quick-striking Tommies scored a pair of goals in the final 59 seconds of the second period—including the eventual game-winner with seven seconds remaining—in handing Saint Mary's a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. | Recap
• November 17, 2013: Saint Mary's rematch with St. Thomas got off to a eerily similar start to the opening game of the two-game conference series—with one team jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Cardinals—who scored the game's first two goals in Saturday's 4-3 loss at UST—this time around it was the Tommies who got out to the 2-0 lead. And the Tommies didn't stop there, as UST would score three times in the game's opening 20 minutes and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's a 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a pair of conference games against Saint Benedict next weekend. Saint Mary's hosts the Blazers at 7 p.m. Friday evening, and the two teams are back on the ice Saturday at 2 p.m.
• St. Thomas: The Tommies square off against St. Olaf in an MIAC two-game series next weekend, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. game on Friday, before returning home to the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for the teams' 2 p.m. rematch on Saturday.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game at St. Thomas is the first road game of the season for the Cardinals, who play five of their first six contests on their home ice. … The Cardinals' first four games this season are against nationally ranked teams. UW-Superior entered last weekend's games ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Top 10, while St. Thomas headed into this weekend's conference openers ranked No. 8. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) accounted for the Cardinals' lone goal against St. Thomas Friday—it was the second straight game Cwik has netted Saint Mary's goal. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.)—who led the team in assists with 10 and shared the team lead in points with 15 a year ago—assisted on Cwik's goal and has now recorded an assist in all three of the Cardinals' games this season. … DeBartolo leads the team in assists (3) and points (3), while Cwik is first on the team in goals with two. … The Cardinals' two goals in their season-opening 3-2 overtime loss to UW-Superior on Nov. 7 came from freshmen—Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill. and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.)—who were playing in their first collegiate games. … Pierson also picked up her first collegiate assist, as did fellow freshman Hannah Croonquist (St. Paul, Minn.). … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) stopped 33 shots against the Tommies Friday, giving the sophomore 67 saves in her two starts this season. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) got the start in goal in last Saturday's rematch vs. the Yellowjackets, finishing with 29 saves. … St. Thomas netted the game's first goal Friday, marking the first time this season the Cardinals have not scored first. … Saint Mary's did not trail in last Friday's season-opener against the Yellowjackets—until UW-Superior scored 2:35 into overtime.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
St. Thomas' dramatic 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire last Friday was its first of the season. The Tommies dropped a 6-4, season-opening decision at fourth-ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 1. … Led by nine seniors, coach Tom Palkowski guided the 2013-14 Tommies to 20 wins, a sweep of the MIAC regular-season and playoff titles, and the program's first NCAA Frozen Four berth in its 16-year varsity history. … UST returns to First-Team All-MIAC performers in Paige Baldwin—who led the Tommies with 11 goals a year ago—and Megan Juricko. … Courtney Umland, Karina Marette, Erika Bjorkman and Rachel Friberg accounted for UST's four goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday evening. … Baago, Umland, Friberg and Tori Bailey have all scored a team-high two goals this season. … Baago and Juricko share the team lead in assists with four each, while Baago also boasts a team-best six points, one more than Umland. … Phaylen Meyer has started all three games in goal for the Tommies, compiling a 3.03 goals-against-average and an .807 save percentage. … The Tommies have scored four goals in the first period, two in the second and five in the third. UST's opponents, meanwhile, have netted three goals in all three periods. … St. Thomas has scored first in two of its first three games.