WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns home on Friday for the first game of their two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against St. Olaf. Puck drops at 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-1 MIAC | 1-2-1 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (0-1-1 MIAC | 0-4-1 Overall)
 
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• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are coming off an 0-1-1 showing against Bethel last weekend. The Royals beat Saint Mary's 4-2 in the teams' conference opener last Friday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena last Friday, before battling to a 1-1 overtime deadlock in the rematch Saturday in Blaine, Minn. | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
• St. Olaf: The Oles picked up one conference point in their MIAC-opening series against Hamline last weekend, battling the Pipers to a 4-4 tie last Friday in St. Paul, Minn.,, only to fall to HU 4-2 in the rematch in Northfield, Minn., a day later | HU Recap 1 * HU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• January 30, 2015 * Northfield, Minn.: All Saint Mary's needed was a wake-up call. And seven minutes into the opening period against St. Olaf, that's exactly what the Cardinals got, as Caroline Ponessa scored to put the Oles out front 1-0. From there, however, it was all Saint Mary's, as the wide-awake Cardinals scored four of the game's final five goals in handing St. Olaf a 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Northfield Ice Arena | Recap
• January 31, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored two goals in the final 2:43 of the third period—then netted the game-winner 2:02 into overtime—as Saint Mary's rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Oles at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Oles head to Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., on Saturday to complete the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 1-1 tie against Bethel snapped their two-game losing streak. … The Cardinals' 4-2 loss and 1-1 tie against Bethel last weekend marked the 14th and 15th time in their last 16 contests that the game was decided by two goals or less. … Last Saturday's 1-1 tie vs. Bethel was the Cardinals' first overtime game of the season. Saint Mary's played six OT games a year ago, going 2-1-3. … The Cardinals' five-goal effort against UW-Superior in their 5-2 season-opening win on Oct. 30 was the Cardinals' highest offensive output since netting five goals in a 5-3 win over Hamline on Feb. 23, 2014. … Saint Mary's three goals against Bethel last weekend came from three different players—Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) netted the Cardinals' goals in last Friday's 4-2 loss to Bethel, while McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) scored Saint Mary's goal in last Saturday's 1-1 tie. … The Cardinals' eight goals this season have come from seven different players. Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) leads the way with two goals—both coming in Saint Mary's 5-2 season-opening win over UW-Superior—while LeTourneau, Cwik, Parent, Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.), Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.), and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) have accounted for the other six. … Hannula's two-goal effort vs. UW-Superior on Oct. 30 was her first multiple-goal game since netting a pair of goals against St. Olaf on Jan. 31, 2014. … Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.), who finished with 23 saves against Bethel on Friday, recorded a school-record 79 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to UW-Superior on Oct. 31. … The 79-save effort—which ranks No. 6 all-time in NCAA Division III history—is 24 saves more than the previous record of 55, set by Nikki Jung against Gustavus on Jan. 21, 2005. … Shields made 22 saves in the first period, 33 in the second, and 24 in the third en route to her 79-save performance. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.)—a First-Team All-MIAC selection a year ago—finished with 36 saves against UW-Superior in the teams' season-opener on Oct. 30, including 18 in the first period. … Herrmann recorded 29 saves against Bethel last Saturday and leads the team with a 1.44 goals-against-average and .956 save percentage. … The Cardinals and their opponents have each scored three goals in the first and third periods. Saint Mary's has been outscored 3-2 in the game's middle period. … Saint Mary's is coming off an 11-win season a year ago—the Cardinals' highest win total since going 11-11-3 during the 2010-11 season. … With their 5-2 win over UW-Superior on Oct. 30, the Cardinals snapped a four-game season-opening winless streak (0-3-1). Saint Mary's last season-opening win was a 5-0 victory over Marian on Oct. 29, 2010.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Oles head into Friday's showdown at Saint Mary's still searching for their first win of the season (0-4-1). … St. Olaf's 4-4 tie against Hamline last Friday snapped its season-opening three-game losing streak. … St. Olaf has surrendered four goals in each of its last three contests, and has allowed four or more goals in four straight games. … St. Olaf has scored a season-high four goals twice­—falling to UW-Stevens Point 5-4, and tying Hamline 4-4. … The Pointers' five goals in their 5-4 win over St. Olaf on Oct. 31 were the most allowed by the Oles this season. … St. Olaf's 4-4 tie vs. Hamline last Friday was its second overtime game of the season—the Oles' 5-4 loss to UW-Stevens Point also went into overtime. … Hannah Forliti scored twice and Maddy Johnson and Kallil McCullen each scored once in St. Olaf's 4-4 tie against Hamline last Friday, while Sara Lind and Lainie Baldwin accounted for the Oles' two goals in their 4-2 loss last Saturday. … Megan Skelly recorded assists on three of the Oles' four goals against the Pipers last Friday. … With her two goals against Hamline, Forlitti heads into Friday's game against Saint Mary's with a team-best three goals. She also owns a team-leading five points—one more than Lind. … Lind and Skelly share the team's top spot in assists with three each. … All three of Forlitti's goals have been on the powerplay. … St. Olaf's 12 goals have come from eight different players. … The Oles have started three different goalies through five games this season. Cassie Alexander owns a 4.14 goals-against-average and an .891 save percentage in three starts, while Mae Morris (2.08 GAA, .923 save percentage) and Hailey Sampson (3.10 GAA, .903 save percentage) have each made one start. … The Oles' opponents have netted six goals in all three periods—outscoring St. Olaf 6-2 in the first and 6-4 in the second, while both teams have tallied six third-period goals.