WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday, squaring off against league-leading and nationally ranked Gustavus in the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3-1 MIAC | 7-7-2 Overall) at #6 Gustavus Gusties (8-0-1 MIAC | 12-2-2 Overall)
 
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Last Night:
• The Cardinals gave sixth-ranked and league-leading Gustavus all it could handle in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Don Roberts Rink. Unfortunately, the Gusties converted on a pair of third-period power plays in handing Saint Mary's a heartbreaking 3-2 setback. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• November 2, 2013: Gustavus, which went 24-0-1 during the regular season a year ago—including a perfect 18-0-0 run through the conference schedule—had its high-octane offense running in high gear, handing Saint Mary's a season-opening 8-2 nonconference setback at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
• January 24, 2014: Saint Mary's did something no other MIAC team has been able to do against seventh-ranked Gustavus all season—score more two goals. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, their three goals came up one goal short, as Gustavus broke a 3-3 tie four minutes into the third period on a power play goal by Carolyn Draayer to lift GAC to a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 25, 2014: A day after dropping a heart-breaking 4-3 loss to Gustavus, the Cardinal got another shot at the high-powered and nationally ranked Gusties. But this time around, Gustavus left little doubt, scoring three second-period goals en route to conference win No. 30 in a row—a 5-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Saint Mary's at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn. | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are on the road for the first game of their two-game conference series against St. Olaf next Friday, squaring off against the Oles at 7:30 p.m. in Northfield, Minn. Saint Mary's will then host the Oles in Game 2 on Saturday at 2 p.m.
• Gustavus: The Gusties square off against Saint Benedict next weekend in their two-game MIAC series, hosting the Blazers at 7 p.m. at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., before heading to St. Cloud, Minn., for Saturday's 7:15 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Saturday's game against sixth-ranked Gustavus marks the Cardinals' seventh game against nationally ranked teams this season—Adrian was ranked No. 7 when the Cardinals faced them on Jan. 9; UW-Superior was ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Top 10 when the teams met on Nov. 7-8; and St. Thomas headed into the teams' conference openers on Nov. 14-15 ranked No. 8. … Despite their 3-2 loss to Gustavus Friday, the Cardinals enter Saturday's rematch 5-2-1 in their last eight games. …  The Cardinals' two wins over Bethel last weekend marked their third two-game sweep of the season—Saint Mary's beat UW-Eau Claire 4-1 twice on Jan. 2-3, and swept Saint Benedict 3-2 and 2-0 on Nov. 21-22. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) accounted for the Cardinals' two goals against Gustavus Friday. … With their goals Friday, DeBartolo and Peterson remained tied for the team lead with nine points each. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) is the team-leader in goals with five, while Peterson and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) share the team lead with seven 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' four goals in both 4-1 wins over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2-3 were a season high. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.), who made 40 saves in two wins against Bethel last weekend, kicked out 26 Gustavus shots on Friday. … Herrmann notched her second shutout of the season—and third of her collegiate career—with 23 saves vs. Bethel last Saturday. … Herrmann's other shutout this season was 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 game against nationally ranked Gustavus owning a team-leading 1.75 goals-against-average and a .934 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. … With their 1-0 win over Bethel at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena last Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 4-0-1 in their last five home games against the Royals—with all five being decided by one goal or less. … 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 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, 2012.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
The Gusties come into Friday's game against Saint Mary's ranked No. 6 in the latest USCHO.com Top 10. … With their win over Saint Mary's Friday, the Gusties pushed their winning streak to four straight. … Both of Gustavus' losses this season have come at the hands of nationally ranked teams, and have both been by one goal—GAC dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to fourth-ranked Middlebury, while also falling to then-No. 5 Adrian 1-0. … The Gusties' 1-0 loss to Adrian marked the first time since March 8, 2014 that they have been held without at least one goal. … Allison Eder-Zdechlik Erica Power and Kaitlyn Klein netted Gustavus' three goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday. … Eder-Zdechlik owns a team-leading nine goals, one more than Carolyn Draayer. … Power is the team-leader in both assists (10) and points (16). … Power is one of four Gusties with 10 or more points this season—Eder-Zdechlik (14), Draayer (12) and Diana Draayer (11) are the other three. … Carolyn Draayer owns a team-high three power play goals, while Eder-Zdechlik has netted a team-best two shorthanded tallies. … Lindsey Hibbard, who made 28 saves in two games against the Auggies last weekend—including a 10-save shutout last Friday—finished with 17 saves against the Cardinals Friday. … Hibbard has started 14 of the team's 16 games, compiling a 1.31 goals-against-average and a .939 save percentage. … Hibbard's shutout against Augsburg last Friday was her third of the season. … GAC has outscored its opponents in every period—including 10-5 in the first period and 25-8 in the game's final 20 minutes. … Gustavus is 7-1-1 when scoring first, while going 5-1-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. …  Gustavus has won 12 MIAC titles in the 16 years the league has offered women's hockey. The Gusties have also earned the conference's playoff crown in 10 of the last 11 years.