WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team gets back into Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-2 MIAC | 5-6-2 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-5-1 MIAC | 2-10-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals picked up a pair of nonconference wins last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena—scoring four third-period goals in beating St. Scholastica on Friday, before getting three goals from Taylor Portner (Andover, Minn.) and two from Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) in a 5-4 win over Northland on Saturday | CSS Recap * Northland Recap
• Bethel: The Royals went 0-1-1 in their final two nonconference games of the season last weekend in Blaine, Minn., falling to Adrian 7-3 on Friday, before battling Lake Forest to a 3-3 tie a day later | Adrian Recap * Lake Forest Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• January 17, 2014: The Cardinals scored three of their four goals in the last 1:30 of a period in handing Bethel a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. | Recap
• January 18, 2014: The Cardinals spotted Bethel a 3-0 lead in the game's opening 11 minutes. Down, but far from out, the Cardinals began digging — with Nick Albergo (Elhurst, Ill.) leading the way, as the freshman rattled off three straight goals for his first collegiate hat trick to pull SMU even, 3-3 five minutes into the third period. Unfortunately, Bethel would have the last laugh, as the Royals got a goal from Jack McFarlane with eight minutes remaining in regulation to beat the Cardinals 4-3 at the SMU Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  The Cardinals and Royals square off for the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday, traveling to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for a 7 p.m. contest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Last weekend's games against St. Scholastica and Northland were the final nonconference games of the season for the Cardinals. … After playing 10 of their first 11 games on the road, Friday's game against Bethel is the third straight home game for Saint Mary's. … The Cardinals had a player scored three goals in both of their games last weekend—Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) netted his first collegiate hat trick against St. Scholastica last Friday, while Taylor Portner (Andover, Minn.) matched that feat against Northland a day later. … The last time the Cardinals have had two players record hat tricks in the same season was 2007-2008, when David Gross and Morgan Shepherd accomplished the feat. … Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) netted a pair of goals against Northland last Saturday, giving Saint Mary's three multiple-goal scorers in their last two games. … Gruse assisted on two of the Cardinals' five goals vs. Northland last Saturday, giving the sophomore nine points—five goals and four assists—in Saint Mary's last three games. … Gruse's hat trick vs. St. Scholastica 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 this weekend's game against Bethel as the team-leader in goals (10) and points (19). … Gruse's 19 points rank No. 1 in the MIAC, while his 10 goals put the Cardinal sophomore No. 2. … Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa) owns a team-best 10 assists. … Gruse (19), Marx (14) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska / 12) give the Cardinals three players with 10 or more points through 13 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. … The Cardinals boast nine players who have netted their first collegiate goals this season—Cesarz, Portner, Michael Cimba (Wilmette, Ill.), Kyle Blondin (Kent, Wash.), Johnny Morales (Torrance, Calif.), Joey VanAntwerp (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), and Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio). … Saint Mary's 44 goals have come from 14 different players, while 21 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, before adding a 22-save effort against Northland on Saturday. … 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 13 games—enters Friday's game against Bethel owning a 2.68 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage, while Gaffy boasts a 4.00 GAA and an .852 save percentage … The Cardinals have scored 20 of their 44 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 Bethel Royals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Last weekend's games against Adrian and Lake Forest were the final two nonconference games of the season for Bethel. … After opening the season with back-to-back wins over Gustavus and St. Olaf at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, the Royals have gone 0-10-2 in their last 12 contests. … Two of Bethel's last four games have ended in ties—5-5 vs. Hamline on Dec. 5 and 3-3 vs. Lake Forest last Saturday. … Adrian's seven goals in last Friday's 7-3 win over BU were the most allowed by the Royals this season. … Bethel's six goals last weekend came from six different players—Tony Larson, Justin Bonanno and Brock Raffaele scored BU's three goals vs. Adrian last Friday, while Jackson Purvis, Eric Szafranski and Grant Dye accounted for the Royals' three goals vs. Lake Forest. … Mitch Hughes enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's as the team leader in assists (11) and points (16). … Hughes, Raffaele and Travis Payne share the team lead in goals with five each. … The Royals boast three players with 10 or more points through 14 games—Hughes (16), Raffaele (14) and Payne (12). … Bethel's 11 power play goals have come from nine different players. … J.T. Walters has scored BU's lone shorthanded goal this season. … The Royals have used three different goalies this season—Matt Rowe has started six games, compiling a 4.17 goals-against-average and .875 save percentage, while Matt Arnold (3.75 GAA, .906 save %) and Will Griswold (4.44 GAA, .870 save %) have each made four starts. … Rowe has amassed a team-high 175 saves, while Arnold and Griswold are close behind with 145 and 120, respectively. … The Royals have scored a season-high five goals twice—beating Concordia (Wis.) 5-x on Nov. 28, and tying Hamline 5-5 on Dec. 5. … Bethel has been outscored 59-35 through 14 games—including 21-12 in the game's middle period. … BU is 0-6-0 when trailing after one period, and 0-9-1 when behind heading into the game's final 20 minutes. … Bethel has scored first in six of its 14 games, going 1-3-2. The Royals are 1-7-0 when their opponent scores first.