WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team closes out its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Bethel on Saturday, hosting the Royals in a 2 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2-1 MIAC | 6-6-2 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (3-3-1 MIAC | 8-5-1 Overall)
 
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Last Night:
• Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to lift the Cardinals to a 2-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Bethel Friday evening at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• January 17, 2014: Saint Mary's held the high-powered Royals to just one goal, while scoring two of their own—including Katie LeTourneau's (White Bear Lake, Minn.) game-winning tally with 45 seconds remaining in regulation—as the Cardinals knocked off Bethel 2-1 at the SMU Ice Arena | Recap
• January 18, 2014: Bethel—owners of the No. 1 spot in the MIAC in all three individual scoring categories, while also boasting five of the MIAC's top six point-getters—managed just two goals against Saint Mary's in the second game of their two-game conference series. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that was two too many, as the Royals earned a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference split, handing Saint Mary's a 2-0 setback at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road on Friday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown against nationally ranked Gustavus. Saint Mary's and GAC will then play the second game of their conference series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
• Bethel: The Royals return to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., on Friday, as Bethel hosts St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference game. BU and the Oles will play the second game of their MIAC series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Northfield, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
With their 2-1 victory over Bethel Friday, Saint Mary's is now 4-1-1 in their last six games. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) and Mackenzie Klimek (Hastings, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' two goals vs. Bethel Friday. It was Henderson's team-leading fifth goal of the season, while Klimek's third-period tally was her first of the year. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) assisted on Henderson's second-period goal, moving the senior into a tie for the team's assist lead (6) with Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.). … DeBartolo also leads the team with eight points, one more than Peterson. … The Cardinals boast three players who have recorded multiple-goal games this season—Henderson, Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Molly Abraham (Plymouth, Minn.). Fadness posted her first collegiate two-goal game in Saint Mary's 3-2 OT win over St. Catherine on Dec. 6, while Abraham recorded her first two-goal game as a Cardinal in Saint Mary's 3-2 win over Saint Benedict on Nov. 21, and Henderson—who scored her first collegiate goal in the Cardinals' 5-2 nonconference loss to St. Norbert on Nov. 29—recorded her multiple-goal game against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2. … Peterson dished out four assists in the Cardinals' two-game sweep of UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2-3—including a career-high three assists in their Jan. 3, 4-1 victory. … The Cardinals have four players who have netted their first collegiate goal this season—Henderson, Abraham, Mandy Sailor (Ramsey, Minn.) and Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill.). …  The Cardinals' two wins over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2-3 marked the Cardinals' second two-game sweep of the season—Saint Mary's beat Saint Benedict 3-2 and 2-0 on Nov. 21-22. … The Cardinals' four goals in both 4-1 wins over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2-3 were a season high. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) made 17 saves against Bethel Friday evening. … Herrmann recorded her second collegiate shutout with a 43-save effort in a 0-0 tie against St. Thomas on Nov. 15. … Herrmann's 43 saves vs. the Tommies on Nov. 15 were a season high and one save shy of her career high. The junior stopped 44 shots against Concordia on Feb. 16, 2013. … Herrmann enters Saturday's rematch against Bethel owning a team-leading 1.82 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage. … Marah Shields' (Milford, Mich.) 35 saves vs. Adrian last Saturday were one shy of her career-high 36-save efforts against St. Norbert—this year on Nov. 29, and last year on Jan. 15. … Shields—owner of a 2.45 GAA and .917 save percentage—picked up her first collegiate shutout on Nov. 22, stopping all 19 shots in the Cardinals' 2-0 victory over Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals' tie against Lake Forest on Jan. 9 was their fourth overtime game of the season—Saint Mary's is 1-1-2 in those four games. … Saint Mary's tie vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 15 marked the second time in the last three seasons that Saint Mary's has played to a 0-0 tie. Saint Mary's and Concordia battled to a 0-0 stalemate on Feb. 15, 2013. … Saint Mary's Dec. 6 3-2 OT victory over St. Catherine snapped its five-game overtime winless streak (0-1-4). The Cardinals' last OT win was a 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, 2012. … The Cardinals have played five games against nationally ranked teams this season—the latest a 4-1 loss to No. 7 Adrian on Jan. 9. UW-Superior was ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Top 10 when the teams met on Nov. 7-8, while St. Thomas headed into the teams' conference openers on Nov. 14-15 ranked No. 8.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Friday's setback to Saint Mary's was Bethel's second straight loss, after putting together a season-high five-game winning streak. … Bethel, which had outscored its opponents 18-7 during its five-game run, has netted just two goals during its current two-game losing streak. … The Royals head into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's having scored three or more goals in all eight of their wins this season—including a season-high six goals in a 6-3 victory over nationally ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 8. … Kathryn Larson enters Saturday's MIAC game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (8) and points (15). … Caroline Kivisto—who scored BU's lone goal vs. Saint Mary's Friday—has a team-best nine assists, one more than Kallie Johnson. … The Royals have five players with 10 or more points through 13 games—Larson (15), Lindsay Burman (13), Kivisto (13), Johnson (11) and Natalie Simons (10). … The Royals have scored nine special-team goals—eight power play and one shorthanded—while BU's opponents have netted just three power play goals. … Michelle Klimstra and Maggie Straka have shared the goaltending duties for the Royals—Klimstra owns a 1.98 goals-against-average and .904 save percentage in eight starts, while Straka comes into Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's with a 1.84 GAA and .895 save percentage in six starts. … Klimstra has made a team-high 142 saves. … Both BU goalies have recorded a shutout this season—Klimstra stopped all 11 shots against UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 31, while Straka kicked out 19 shots in blanking Hamline on Dec. 6. … Friday's loss to Saint Mary's was just the second in six home games for the Royals, who are 4-3-1 away from the Schwan's Super Rink. … Bethel has outscored its opponents 40-26—including 18-13 in the game's middle period. … BU is a perfect 6-0-0 when leading after two periods. … The Royals are 6-1-1 when scoring the game's first goal, and 2-4-0 when their opponent nets the first goal.