WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule on Saturday, hosting Northland in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-6-2 Overall) vs. Northland Lumberjacks (1-11-2 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) scored three times and the Cardinals erupted for four third-period goals en route to a 5-2 nonconference win over St. Scholastica Friday evening at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Northland: The Lumberjacks scored three unanswered third-period goals to erase a 2-0 St. Olaf lead, only to surrender a power-play tally with 2:28 on the clock in settling for a 3-3 nonconference tie Friday in Northfield, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Northland—Their Last Meeting:
• November 22, 2005: It took a little longer than coach Don Olson had hoped—six games to long, to be exact. But Saint Mary's finally notched its first win of the season, as the Cardinals scored six unanswered goals in beating Northland 6-1 in a nonconference game in Ashland, Wis. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend with a two-game series against Bethel. Saint Mary's entertains Bethel in a 7 p.m. conference contest on Friday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, before heading to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for the teams' 7 p.m. rematch on Saturday.
• Northland: The Lumberjacks get back into NCHA play next Friday, hosting Finlandia in a 7 p.m. conference game at the Bay Area Civic Center in Ashland, Wis.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Cardinals' game against St. Scholastica Friday was their first home game since dropping a 3-2 decision to St. Thomas on November 10—a span of seven straight road games. … Saturday's contest vs. Northland is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals. … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick to account for three of the Cardinals' five goals vs. St. Scholastica Friday evening. Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) scored Saint Mary's other two goals vs. the Saints. … Gruse's three-goal effort was the Cardinals' first since Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) scored three times against Bethel on Jan. 18, 2014. … Gruse has now recorded seven points—five goals and two assists—in Saint Mary's last three games. … Gruse's hat trick was his second multiple-goal game of the season—the sophomore scored twice vs. Aurora on Dec. 6, while also notching his first collegiate four-point game by adding a pair of assists vs. the Spartans. … Gruse heads into Saturday's showdown with Northland as the team-leader in goals (10) and points (17). … Marx owns a team-best nine assists—including two vs. CSS Friday. … Gruse (17), Marx (13) and McGlasson (12) give the Cardinals three players with 10 or more points through 12 games. … The Cardinals' 11 goals in their 11-2 rout of Aurora on Dec. 6 were a season high—and the most scored in a game since Saint Mary's netted 14 in a 14-3 rout of Concordia during the 2007-08 season. … Saint Mary's 11 goals vs. Aurora on Dec. 6 came from eight different players. … Six of Saint Mary's 11 goals vs. the Spartans on Dec. 6 came on special teams—four power play and two shorthanded. … Saint Mary's had four players—Cimba, Kyle Blondin (Kent, Wash.), Johnny Morales (Torrance, Calif.) and Joey VanAntwerp (Farmington Hills, Mich.)—score their first goals in a Cardinal uniform in the Dec. 6 win over Aurora. … The Cardinals now boast nine players who have netted their first collegiate goals this season—Wasell, Cimba, Blondin, Morales, VanAntwerp, Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio), Taylor Portner (Andover, Minn.) and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich. … Saint Mary's 39 goals have come from 14 different players, while 18 Cardinals have notched at least one point. … Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) made 19 saves against St. Scholastica Friday to earn his first win of the season. … Fellow goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) recorded a career-high 51 saves against Saint John's on Nov. 21. … Heinle's 51 saves are the most by a Cardinal goalie since Jason Horstman stopped 52 shots against Gustavus on Feb. 19, 2011. … Heinle, who has started 10 of the team's 12 games, enters Saturday's game against St. Scholastica owning a 2.68 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. … In his final start a year ago against Hamline, Heinle notched his first collegiate assist—marking the first time since Dan Byron during the 2000-2001 season that a Saint Mary's goalie has recorded an assist. … The Cardinals have scored 19 of their 39 goals in the third period. … Two of the Cardinals' four conference games have gone to a shootout—with Saint Mary's winning both. Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Ill.) scored in Saint Mary's 1-0 shootout win over St. Thomas on Nov. 8, while Albergo and Gruse found the back of the net in the Cardinals' 2-1 shootout win over Saint John's on Nov. 21. … The Cardinals' 1-0 win in the shootout vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 8 was their first shootout in the two years since the MIAC added it to the end of tied games prior to the 2013-14 season. … The Cardinals have played three overtime games, going to a shootout vs. both St. Thomas and Saint John's, while dropping a 3-2 OT decision to nationally ranked UW-Stevens Point. … Seven of Saint Mary's first 12 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. … Saint Mary's 4-0 loss to MSOE on Jan. 5 marked just the second time this season they have failed to net at least one goal—the Cardinals were blanked by Augsburg 2-0 in their season-opener against Augsburg on Oct. 31. … The Cardinals' 1-1 showing at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase marked the third straight season Saint Mary's has gone 1-1 at the conference's season-opening event. Saint Mary's lost to Augsburg (6-2) and beat St. Olaf (3-2), while topping Bethel (7-2) and falling to Saint John's (8-1) in 2012-13. … Saint Mary's season-opening 2-0 loss to Augsburg on Oct. 31 actually snapped its three-game winning streak—the Cardinals had closed out the 2013-14 season with a 5-2 win over Concordia and 6-5 and 8-3 victories over Hamline.
 
Scouting The Northland Lumberjacks:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the Raiders' third straight contest against a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe. Northland dropped a 4-2 decision to Concordia on Dec. 13, while also tying St. Olaf 3-3 on Friday. … Northland is the midst of six straight road games. … Northland heads into Saturday's contest against Saint Mary's in the midst of a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2)—the Lumberjacks' last win was a 4-3 victory over Lake Forest on Nov. 18. … As a team, Northland has surrendered six or more goals four times this season—including giving up nine goals in a season-opening 9-2 loss to Adrian on Oct. 31. … The Lumberjacks have scored a season-high four goals twice—beating Lake Forest 4-3 on Nov. 18, and falling to Lawrence 5-4 on Nov. 15. … Darius Cole, Petter Buling and Colby Spoonemore netted Northland's three goals vs. St. Olaf Friday. … Cole's third-period goal vs. the Oles moved him into a tie for the team lead (6) with Michael Berens. … Cole also leads the team with 11 points—one more than Berens—while sharing the top spot in assists (5) with Anthony Stempin and Spoonemore. … Northland's 28 goals this season have come from 11 different players. … Northland has used three different goalies this season—Jesse DiLillo owns a 3.18 goals-against-average and .890 save percentage in nine appearances, while Tyler Ampe (6.97 GAA, .805 save % in six appearances) and Dax Deadrick (4.32 GAA, .898 save % in three starts) have also seen playing time. … Dilillo has stopped a team-leading 186 shots, while Ampe has stopped 140 of the 174 shots he's faced. … Northland has scored six power play goals this season, while the Lumberjacks' opponents have netted 15 goals with the man advantage.