SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its 2015-16 season on Friday, traveling to Wessman Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Superior.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2014-15: 11-12-3 Overall) at UW-Superior Yellowjackets (2014-15: 15-12-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Video Preview | MIAC Women's Hockey Preview/Poll
 
Last Action:
• Tonight's game is the season opener for both the Cardinals and Yellowjackets
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Superior—A Year Ago:
• November 7, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: Freshmen Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill. and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) made a lasting impression in their first games in a Saint Mary's uniform, as the Cardinal duo each netted their first collegiate goals. Unfortunately, UW-Superior had to rain on their parade, as the Yellowjackets broke a 2-2 tie with 2:25 left in overtime to hand the Cardinals a 3-2 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• November 8, 2014 * Winona, Minn.: UW-Superior erased a 1-0 Saint Mary's lead with five unanswered goals in handing the Cardinals a 5-1 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Yellowjackets return to Wessman Arena in Superior, Wis., on Saturday for the second game of their two-game nonconference series. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2014-15 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
The Cardinals boasted three players—Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.), Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.), and Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) on the All-MIAC First-Team a year ago. Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.), Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.), and Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.) were All-MIAC honorable-mention selections. … Coach Terry Mannor was named the MIAC Coach of the Year, becoming the third Cardinal coach to earn the MIAC's top honor, joining Jeff Vizenor (1998-99) and Duncan Ryhorchuk (2000-01). … The Cardinals' appearance in the MIAC Playoff quarterfinal was its first post-season appearance since the 2009-10 season. … Saint Mary's 2-1 regular season-ending victory over Hamline on Feb. 21 was their 11th of the season—the Cardinals' highest win total since going 11-11-3 during the 2010-11 season. … The Cardinals played 19 games that were decided by two goals or less—including 12 of their final 13. … Peterson, Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.), and Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) shared the team lead in goals a year ago with six each, one more than Lien and two in front of Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.). … Peterson also owned the team lead in assists (9) and points (15). … Saint Mary's had four players who recorded multiple-goal games last season—Peterson, Henderson, Fadness, and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.). Peterson scored twice vs. St. Olaf on Jan. 30, while Fadness posted her first collegiate two-goal game in Saint Mary's 3-2 OT win over St. Catherine on Dec. 6. 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 scored her multiple-goal game against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2. … The Cardinals had four players net their first collegiate goal a year ago—Henderson, Abraham, Mandy Sailor (Ramsey, Minn.), and Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill.). … The Cardinals scored a season-high four goals in a game three times last season—beating St. Olaf 4-2 on Jan. 30, while topping UW-Eau Claire 4-1 in both of their nonconference games on Jan. 2-3. … Saint Mary's 50 shots on goal vs. Hamline on Feb. 20 were a season high, and the most since peppering UW-Eau Claire with 52 shots on Jan. 10, 2014. … Saint Mary's 2-0 win over Augsburg on Feb. 6 was the Cardinals' fourth shutout of the season, marking the second straight year in which Saint Mary's has notched four shutouts in a season. … Shields—who posted her first two collegiate shutouts with a 31-save effort against Augsburg on Feb. 6, and a 19-save showing vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 22—finished the season with a 2.31 GAA and .925 save percentage. … Herrmann, also the owner of two shutouts last season—a 23-save showing vs. Bethel on Jan. 17 and a 43-save gem in a 0-0 tie against St. Thomas on Nov. 15, led the team with a 2.04 GAA and .922 save percentage. … 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. … The Cardinals played six overtime games last season—going 2-1-3. … Saint Mary's tie vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 15 marked the second time in the last three seasons that the Cardinals have played to a 0-0 tie. Saint Mary's and Concordia battled to a 0-0 stalemate on Feb. 15, 2013. … The Cardinals boasted four two-game series sweeps last season—the most since the 2003-04 season. The Cardinals swept St. Olaf (4-2, 3-2), Bethel (2-1, 1-0), UW-Eau Claire (4-1, 4-1), and Saint Benedict (3-2, 2-0). … The Cardinals were 9-4-1 when scoring the game's first goal, while going 2-7-1 when their opponent scored first. … The Cardinals played seven games against nationally ranked teams last season—Gustavus was ranked No. 6 heading into their MIAC showdown with Saint Mary's on Jan. 23-24; 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.
 
Scouting The UW-Superior Yellowjackets:
2015-16 Roster | 2014-15 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
The Yellowjackets enter the 2015-16 season on the heels of a 15-12-0 mark a year ago. … UW-Superior will be without the services of both their First-Team All-WIAC selections from a year ago—Dani Schultz, Haley Olmstead—who both graduated. … Schultz paced the Yellowjackets in scoring for a fourth straight season, finishing the year with 10 goals, 15 assists and 25 points. The Yellowjackets' two-year captain finished her career ranked second all-time in goals (57), assists (59), points (116), power play goals (15), and game-winning goals (12). Her 23 goals in 2011-12 are the fourth most in a single season in UW-Superior women's hockey history. That same season she was named NCHA Player of the Year and AHCA First Team All-American. … Olmstead, meanwhile, had a breakout year as a senior, leading the Yellowjackets in goals with 14 and power play goals with five. … Coach Dan Laughlin, who guided the Yellowjackets to a 15-12-0 overall record and surpassed the 200-win mark for his career, was named the WIAC Coach of the Year last season. Laughlin is the all-time wins leader at UW-Superior with a 207-92-31 in 12 seasons. … The Yellowjackets finished the 2014-15 season with four players who netted 10 or more goals—Olmstead (14), Kiara De Kezel (11), Schultz (10), and Karen Larson (10). … Schultz's team-high 25 points were one more than Haley Adair. The duo were two of six Yellowjackets who finished the season with 20 or more points. … Kim Kobar and Megan Leikkari shared the goaltending duties last season, with Kobar compiling a 2.33 GAA and .896 save percentage in 13 appearances, while Leikkari posted a 3.06 GAA and .890 save percentage in 14 games. … UW-Superior did not record a tie last season and had only one game reach overtime—a 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's on Nov. 7. … Eight of the Yellowjackets' 15 wins came on their home ice—UW-Superior was 8-5-0 at Wessman Arena, while going 7-7-0 on the road. … UW-Superior went 9-2-0 when scoring the game's first goal. The Yellowjackets were 6-10-0 when their opponent scored first. … UW-Superior outscored its opponents 67-50 after the game's opening 20 minutes—the Yellowjackets were outscored 26-19 in the first period.