BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to the Schwan's Super Rink for a 7 p.m. showdown with Bethel
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2-1 MIAC | 5-5-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (3-2-1 MIAC | 8-4-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out its nonconference schedule last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, battling Lake Forest to a 2-2 tie last Friday, while falling to seventh-ranked Adrian 4-1 a day later | Lake Forest Recap * Adrian Recap
• Bethel: The Royals earned a split in their nonconference series against UW-Superior last weekend, beating the Yellowjackets 3-1 in last Friday's opener in Blaine, Minn., before falling 4-1 in the rematch a day later in Superior, Wis. | UW-S Recap 1 * UW-S Recap 2
 
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:
• The Cardinals and Royals will square off in the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday, this time at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Puck drops at 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Last Saturday's game against Adrian marked the fifth time this season the Cardinals have squared off against a nationally ranked team. 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. … Last Saturday's game vs. Adrian was the eighth home game of the season for the Cardinals, who have only played five road games. … Last Saturday's 4-1 loss to Adrian snapped the Cardinals' season-high four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) and Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored Saint Mary's two goals vs. the Foresters last Friday, while Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's tally vs. Adrian. … Cwik's goal vs. Lake Forest—her fourth of the season—moved her into a tie for the team's goal-scoring lead with Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.). … DeBartolo and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) share the team lead in points with seven, while Peterson also owns a team-leading six assists. … 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 last season were a season high. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) made 27 saves against Lake Forest last Friday, while Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.) kicked out 35 shots against Adrian a day later. … 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 Friday's game against Bethel owning a team-leading 1.95 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage. … Shields' 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 last Friday 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.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Last Saturday's 4-1 loss to UW-Superior snapped the Royals' season-high five-game winning streak. … Bethel had outscored its opponents 18-7 during its five-game run. … The Royals head into Friday's game against Saint Mary's having scored three of 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. … Lindsay Burman, Lauren Kolak and Kathryn Larson scored the Royals' three goals in last Friday's 3-1 win over the 11th-ranked Yellowjackets, while Larson accounted for BU's lone goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss. … Fueled by her two goals vs. UW-Superior, Larson enters this weekend's MIAC series against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (8) and points (15). … Caroline Kivisto 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), Burman (13), Kivisto (12), Johnson (11) and Natalie Simons (10). … The Royals have scored eight special-team goals—seven 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 in with a 1.81 GAA and .902 save percentage in five 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. … Bethel is a near-perfect 4-1-0 on their home ice this season, while going 4-3-1 away from the Schwan's Super Rink. … Bethel has outscored its opponents 39-25—including 18-12 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 2-3-0 when their opponent nets the first goal.