BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off 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 (0-0-0 MIAC | 1-2-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (0-0-0 MIAC | 0-3-1 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals came up with a win and a tie in a pair of nonconference games against nationally ranked teams last weekend. Saint Mary's battled 8th-ranked UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 overtime tie last Friday, before knocking off No. 10 UW-River Falls 4-2 a day later | UW-EC Recap * UW-RF Recap
• Bethel: Bethel dropped a pair of road nonconference games last weekend, falling 4-2 to UW-Stout on Friday, before suffering a 4-3 overtime setback to second-ranked UW-Stevens Point on Saturday | UW-S Recap * UW-SP Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• January 16, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: After scoring five goals in each of their last two games, Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore was hoping his Cardinals' high-octane offense would pick up right where it left off Friday against Bethel. It did. The Cardinals scored two goals in both the first and third periods­—and finished with five goals for the third straight game—as Saint Mary's knocked off Bethel 5-2 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 17, 2015 * Blaine, Minn.: Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) scored four unanswered goals—becoming the first Cardinal since Mike Glaesmer in the 2008-09 season to net four goals in a game—to lead Saint Mary's to its fifth straight five-goal game, a second consecutive 5-2 win over Bethel Saturday at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday, hosting the Royals in the second game of the team's two-game conference series. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Friday's game at Bethel is the fifth straight road game for the Cardinals. … Friday's game is the conference-opener for the Cardinals, who were picked to finish second in the Preseason MIAC Coaches' Poll. … The Cardinals' win and tie last weekend both came against nationally ranked teams—UW-Eau Claire (T, 3-3) was ranked No. 8 and UW-River Falls (W, 4-2) was No. 10 in the USCHO.com Poll. … Six of the Cardinals' last 10 games—including last Friday's 3-3 overtime tie against UW-Eau Claire—have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals' seven goals last weekend came from six different players. Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) scored against both UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls, while Kellen Wassel (Edmonds, Wash.) and Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) also found the back of the net against UW-Eau Claire, and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Wis.), and Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) also scored vs. UW-River Falls. … Heinle and Farrell have each scored their first collegiate goals this season. … The Cardinals have not had a multiple-goal scorer through their first four games of the season. … Heinle's three goals—one in each of the Cardinals' last three games—are a team high, one more than Albergo. … Heinle is one of six players to share the team lead in points with four—Albergo, Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.), Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.), and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) are the others. … Saint Mary's 16 goals have come from 12 different players, while 16 of the 22 players who have played for the Cardinals this season have recorded at least one point. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) made 53 saves in two starts last weekend—including a season-high 29 against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 6. … Heinle owns a 3.25 goals-against-average and an .882 save percentage in three starts. … Ten of the 18 goals the Cardinals have allowed this season have been on the power play. … The Cardinals have been outscored 15-7 in the first two periods—including 12-3 in the second—but Saint Mary's holds a 9-3 scoring edge in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's is 1-0-1 when scoring the game's first goal, while going 0-2-0 in games in which the Cardinals' opponent scores first. … With their 5-4 loss to Gustavus on Oct. 30, the Cardinals fell to 0-3-0 in their last three season openers. Saint Mary's last season-opening win was a 7-2 victory over Bethel on Oct. 27, 2012.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the home-opener for the Royals, who played their first four contests this season on the road. … After opening the season with a 5-5 tie vs. St. Olaf at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, the Royals have dropped three straight. … All four of BU's games this season have been decided by two goals or less. … Bethel surrendered four goals in both games last weekend, and have allowed four of more goals in three of its four games this season. … Peter Barrel, Travis Payne, J.T. Walters, and Nick Eytcheson all share the team lead with two goals each. … Michael Bond and Mitch Hughes have dished out a team-best three assists, while Barrel and Bond share the team lead in points with four apiece. … Bethel's 12 goals have come from eight different players, while 14 Royals have recorded at least one point. … Bethel has scored four power-play goals, led by Hughes with two. … Bethel has used two goalies in its first four games—Jesse Garcia owns a 3.83 goals-against-average and .904 save percentage in three appearances, while Tucker Murphy allowed three goals and made 38 saves in his one start. … Bethel has outscored its opponents 7-6 in the second period, but have been outscored 4-1 in the first and 6-4 in the third and overtime combined. … BU is 0-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal, and 0-2-1 when its opponent scores first.