WINONA Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team is back on its home ice for a two-game MIAC series against Concordia this weekend, beginning Friday with a 7 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-10-0 MIAC | 6-14-1 Overall) vs. Concordia Cobbers (8-4-2 MIAC | 9-8-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals dropped both games of their two-game conference series against Augsburg last weekend, falling 4-0 on Friday in Minneapolis, Minn., and 5-2 a day later at the SMU Ice Arena. … Concordia picked up three of a possible four conference points against St. Olaf last weekend in Moorhead, Minn., as the two teams battled to a 1-1 tie on Friday, and CC posted a 3-2 win on Saturday.

SMU vs. Concordia — A Year Ago:
February 15, 2013: SMU could not generate any offense in the first game of its two-game conference series against Concordia.  Fortunately for SMU coach Terry Mannor, Cardinal goalie Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) made sure the Cobbers stayed off the scoreboard, too, as the freshman goalie kicked out all 34 shots she faced as the two teams battled to a 0-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tie at the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn.
February 16, 2013: Less than 24 hours after battling the Cobbers to a 0-0 overtime tie — the first in program history — the Cardinals surrendered two first-period goals and never recovered, falling to Concordia 4-0 in an MIAC game at the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Cobbers will square off again on Saturday in the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening face-off is set for 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
Friday's game against Concordia is the second of four straight home games for the Cardinals, who do not hit the road again until Feb. 22, when they travel to Hamline for their regular-season finale. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) and Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in last Saturday's 5-2 loss to Augsburg. … DeBartolo heads into this weekend's conference series against Concordia sharing the team lead in assists (8) and points (13) with Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.). … Cwik's goal against Augsburg last Saturday was her team-leading sixth of the season — one more than DeBartolo, Peterson, McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.), Brittany Therrien (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Minn.). … DeBartolo put together a team-best five-game point-scoring streak in January, recording nine points — two goals and seven assists. … 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. … 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 five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Lien, Cwik, Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Ingrid Curwin (Duluth, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … SMU's 49 goals have come from 14 different players. … SMU has scored three shorthanded goals this season — with Lien accounting for two of them. … All three of SMU's shorthanded goals have come in the third period. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.), who picked up her third shutout of the season with a 21-save effort against St. Olaf on Jan. 31, finished with 49 saves against Augsburg last weekend. … Gustafson now owns eight career shutouts — including at least one in each of her four seasons. … Gustafson stopped a season-high 39 shots in SMU's 2-1 win over Bethel on Jan. 17. … Gustafson, who leads the team with 362 saves, enters Friday's game against Concordia boasting a team-best 2.47 goals-against-average and .911 save percentage. … Fellow goalie Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.), who stopped a career-high 36 shots in the Cardinals' 2-2 tie vs. St. Norbert on Jan. 15, owns a 3.37 GAA and .899 save percentage. … 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 35 of its 49 goals after the first period — netting 18 goals in the second and 17 more in the third. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 21 games — including five of their six wins. SMU is just 1-9-0 when its opponent scores first. … 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2013-14 Roster | 2013-14 Statistics | 2013-14 Schedule
With their 1-1 tie and 3-2 win over St. Olaf last weekend, the Cobbers pushed their unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1). … Last Friday's 1-1 tie vs. the Oles did snap CC's season-high six-game winning streak. … Concordia has outscored its opponents 27-8 during its current eight-game unbeaten streak. … Concordia has played four overtime games this season, with all four resulting in ties — including a 0-0 deadlock against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 8. … The Cobbers have shut out their opponent five times this season. … Bekah Wright netted CC's lone goal in last Friday's 1-1 tie vs. St. Olaf, while Kaya Baker, Casey Petrich and Bri Flynn scored vs. the Oles in Saturday's 3-2 win. … Flynn's goal on Saturday vs. St. Olaf was her team-leading eighth of the season. … Flynn also shares the Cobbers' team lead in points (11) with Madison Gendreau, while Libby Fransdel owns a team-high eight assists. … Flynn scored a team- and season-high two goals in a game in back-to-back wins over Hamline on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, while Gendreau equaled Flynn's two-goal effort against the Pipers on Feb. 1. … Madison Denny has started 14 of the team's 21 games in goal, compiling a 1.84 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage. … Denny, who has notched a team-high 347 saves, has recorded three of the Cobbers' five shutouts. … Fellow goalie Andrea Klug heads into this weekend's series against Saint Mary's with a 1.29 GAA and .942 save percentage in seven starts. … Concordia recorded season highs in goals (6), assists (8) and points (14) in the Cobbers' 6-3 win over Hamline on Jan. 31. … The Cobbers have outscored their opponents 16-10 in the game's opening 20 minutes, but have been outscored 10-5 in the second stanza. … Concordia is 7-2-2 when scoring first, but just 2-6-1 when the Cobbers' opponent nets the game's first goal. … Six of CC's nine wins have come on the Cobbers' home ice.