MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to the Moorhead Sports Center on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against Concordia in the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-5-2 MIAC | 10-9-3 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (8-4-3 MIAC | 9-10-3 Overall)
 
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Last Night:
• Concordia scored three unanswered goals—all coming on the power play—as the Cobbers handed the Cardinals a 3-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Moorhead Youth Rink | Recap

Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—A Year Ago:
• February 14, 2014: Concordia took the ice for the first game of the teams' two-game conference series boasting an eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1) and had outscored its opponents 27-8 over those eight games. And the Cardinals didn't do themselves any favors, spotting the Cobbers a pair of first-period goals. Bolstered by that two-goal advantage, the Cobbers pushed that unbeaten streak to nine straight, handing Saint Mary's a 4-0 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• February 15, 2014: The Cardinals scored a pair of first-period goals, and led by the play of goalie Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.), Saint Mary's made it stand up, snapping the Cobbers' nine-game unbeaten streak with a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule next weekend with a pair of games against Hamline. Saint Mary's and HU will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., before returning to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
• Concordia: The Cobbers are on the road for their last two games of the regular season, heading to Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a pair of conference games against St. Catherine. Friday's game is set for a 7 p.m. start, with Saturday's contest kicking off at 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Despite Friday's 3-2 loss to Concordia, the Cardinals remain in control of their own destiny in their quest for one of the five MIAC Playoff berths. Saint Mary's is currently fourth, one point behind the Cobbers, three points in front of fifth-place Bethel, and four points up on sixth-place Augsburg. … The Cardinals' 2-0 win over Augsburg last Saturday was their 10th of the season—Saint Mary's highest win total since going 11-11-3 during the 2010-11 season. … Friday's 3-2 loss to Concordia snapped the Cardinals' four-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1). … Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) each picked up a goal and an assist against the Cobbers Friday. … Lien has now scored in back-to-back games, having netted one of Saint Mary's two goals in last Saturday's 2-0 win over Augsburg. … Peterson and Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) share the team lead in goals with six, one more than Lien and two in front of Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) and Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.). … Peterson also owns the team lead in assists (9) and points (15). … Peterson finished with three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 30, marking the second time this season the senior forward has notched three or more points in a game—she recorded four points (1 goal, 3 assists) vs. UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 3. … Peterson has notched three or more points in a game five times in her collegiate career. … Peterson's three assists in Saint Mary's 4-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 3 were a career high. … 
Peterson became the fourth Cardinal to record a multiple-goal game this season with her two goals vs. St. Olaf on Jan. 30—Henderson, Fadness, and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) are the other three. Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) 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. … 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 against St. Olaf on Jan. 30 equaled their season high—Saint Mary's also scored four goals in both 4-1 wins over UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2-3. … Last Saturday's 2-0 win over Augsburg 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. … Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.)—who made 31 saves against Augsburg last Saturday en route to her second collegiate shutout—finished with 33 saves vs. the Cobbers Friday. … Shields—owner of a 2.24 GAA and .929 save percentage—picked up her first collegiate shutout on Nov. 22, stopping all 19 shots in the Cardinals' 2-0 victory over Saint Benedict. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) finished with 22 saves against Augsburg last Friday—it was the second straight game in which the junior has recorded 22 saves. … Herrmann notched her second shutout of the season—and third of her collegiate career—with 23 saves vs. Bethel on Jan. 17. 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 Concordia owning a team-leading 1.69 goals-against-average and a .934 save percentage. … The Cardinals have played six overtime games this 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 boast four two-game series sweeps this season—the most since the 2003-04 season. The Cardinals have 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). … Seven of the Cardinals' last nine games have been decided by one goal—Friday's 3-2 loss to Concordia; a 1-1 tie vs. Augsburg; a 3-2 victory over St. Olaf; 2-1 and 1-0 wins over Bethel; and 3-2 and 1-0 losses to Gustavus. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 14-9 in the first period and 17-15 in the third, but the Cardinals have been outscored 19-10 in the game's middle period. … The Cardinals are 8-3-1 when scoring the game's first goal, going 2-5-1 when their opponent scores first. … The Cardinals have played seven games against nationally ranked teams this 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Concordia's game vs. the Cardinals Saturday is its last home games of the regular-season—Concordia closes out with back-to-back road contests at St. Catherine next weekend. … With their 3-2 win over Saint Mary's Friday, the Cobbers' pushed their unbeaten streak to nine (6-0-3). Concordia was 3-10-0 prior to starting its nine-game unbeaten streak with a 10-2 win over Saint Benedict on Jan. 16. … Concordia has outscored its opponents 37-13 during its nine-game run. … Seventeen of Concordia's 22 games have been decided by two goals or less. … The Cobbers' last four losses have all been one-goal games. … Kelsey Vandegrift scored two of CC's three goals vs. Saint Mary's on Friday, while Madison Gendreau netted the other. … Vandegrift has now scored in three straight games. … All three of Concordia's goals vs. Saint Mary's Friday came on the power play. … Gendreau enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the team leader in assists (14) and points (21). … Vandegrift is the team-leader in goals with nine. … Gendreau is one of five Cobbers with 10 or more points through 22 games—Vandegrift (15), Amber Schaack (14), Ellen Rethwisch (13), and Bekah Wright (12) are the others. … Andrea Klug and Madison Denny have shared the goaltending duties for the Cobbers this season. Klug owns a 1.94 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage in 14 games played, while Denny boasts a 2.16 GAA and .915 save percentage in 10 appearances. … Denny stopped all 29 shots she faced in Concordia's 8-0 shutout win over St. Olaf on Feb. 6. … The Cobbers have outscored their opponents 18-13 in the first period, 19-16 in the second and 23-17 in the third. … Concordia has played four overtime games this season—with three of them ending in ties—the lone exception a 4-3 loss to Bethel on Dec. 13. … Concordia is 6-2-1 when scoring first, while going 3-8-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.