WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team steps out of conference play on Friday, hosting UW-Stevens Point in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-6-2 Overall) vs. UW-Stevens Point Pointers (10-3-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are coming off a conference split against league-leading St. Thomas last weekend. Saint Mary's beat the Tommies 4-3 on Friday night at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, while UST came out on top 6-2 in the teams' rematch a day later at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. | UST Recap 1 * UST Recap 2
• UW-Stevens Point: The Pointers scored six unanswered goals, rallying from a 4-0 deficit to beat St. Olaf 6-4 last Sunday at K.B. Willett Arena in Stevens Point, Wis. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stevens Point—A Year Ago:
• November 15, 2014 * Stevens Point, Wis.: UW-Stevens Point's Kyle Sharkey scored 46 seconds into overtime, giving the sixth-ranked Pointers a 3-2 victory over the Cardinals at K.B. Willett Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on their home ice on Saturday, hosting UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
• UW-Stevens Point: The Pointers head to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday for a 4:05 p.m. nonconference game against Augsburg.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals enter Friday's game against fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point having already faced three nationally ranked teams this season—collecting a 4-2 win over 10th-ranked UW-River Falls, battling No. 8 UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 tie, and falling to No. 15 MSOE 6-4. … With their win over St. Thomas last Friday, the Cardinals snapped a season-high three-game losing streak, while also improving to 5-1-0 on their home ice. … Last Friday's 4-3 victory also snapped a 22-game winless streak (0-19-3) against the Tommies—dating back to a 4-2 win on Dec. 11, 2004. … The Cardinals' recent season-high eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) was the longest since Saint Mary's went 7-0-1 during the 1996-97 season. … With their four goals in last Friday's win over St. Thomas, the Cardinals have now scored four goals or more in 10 of their 15 games. … With last weekend's six goals vs. UST, the Cardinals have now scored 67 goals in their first 15 games—ranking No. 2 in the MIAC and No. 8 in all of NCAA Division III. … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) scored a pair of goals against St. Thomas last Friday, while Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) accounted for the other two. In the teams' rematch a day later, Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored for Saint Mary's in the 6-2 loss. … Gruse's two goals against UST last Friday marked the second time this season—and sixth time in his collegiate career—that he has recorded a multiple-goal game. … After not scoring a goal in his first year as a Cardinal, Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) leads the team with 12 goals, three more than Gruse and Kinne. … The Cardinals have recorded three hat tricks this season—Kinne scored three times against Aurora on Nov. 29, while Heinle posted his first collegiate hat trick against Bethel on Nov. 13, and Johnson found the back of the net three times against Bethel on Nov. 14. … Kinne also added an assist against Aurora on Nov. 29 for his second four-point game of the season. … The Cardinals had eight different players record at least two points in the two-game series vs. Aurora on Nov. 28-29—including a team-leading four assists from Walz. … Gruse has recorded at least one point in 12 of the team's 15 games, while Kinne has notched at least one point in 10 of 15 contests. … Heinle had a pair of assists against St. Thomas last Friday and has recorded four points in the Cardinals' last three games. … Saint Mary's has had a player dish out three assists in a game three times this season—Gruse has done it twice, while Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) achieved the feat once. … Gruse—who posted the third four-point game of his collegiate career against Bethel on Nov. 13—leads the team in both assists (15) and points (24). … Gruse is one of eight Cardinals with at least 10 points this season—Kinne (20), Heinle (16), Johnson (15), Wasell (14), Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich. / 13), Walz (12), and Albergo (12) are the others. … Heinle and Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) have each scored their first collegiate goals this season. … Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) stopped a career-high 45 shots—including 20 in the third period—against the Tommies last Friday, before adding 31 saves in the teams' rematch a day later. … Hebda earned his first win in a Cardinal uniform with his 45-save showing in Saint Mary's 4-3 win over UST last Friday. … Hebda's 45 saves against St. Thomas last Friday marked the second straight game a Cardinal goalie posted 45 saves—Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) made a season-high 45 saves against MSOE last on Jan. 3. … Heinle owns a 3.16 goals-against-average and an .802 save percentage, while making a team-high 288 saves in 11 starts this season. … Jake Tugnutt (Peterborough, Ontario) made his first collegiate start in goal against Aurora on Nov. 29, stopping 23 shots to record his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 25-15 in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's—which netted the first goal in both games against St. Thomas last weekend—is 6-1-2 when scoring first, while going 1-5-0 in games in which the Cardinals' opponent scores first. … The Cardinals' 10 goals against Bethel in their Nov. 13 10-2 victory were the most since netting 11 against Aurora on Dec. 6, 2014—and the most in a conference game since scoring 14 against Concordia on Dec. 7, 2007. … The Cardinals' combined 19 goals in their sweep of the Royals were the most since scoring 21 in 14-3 and 7-2 victories over Concordia on Dec. 7-8, 2007. … The Cardinals—who reached the MIAC Playoffs championship game a year ago, after finishing second in the regular-season standings—were picked to finish second in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
Scouting The UW-Stevens Point Pointers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• After back-to-back home games, the Pointers' game against Saint Mary's Friday is the first of two straight road contests. … UW-Stevens Point pushed its winning streak to four in a row with last Sunday's 6-4 win over St. Olaf. … UW-SP improved to 6-0-0 against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with last Sunday's win over St. Olaf. The Pointers, who have beaten Gustavus (5-1), Bethel (4-3), Concordia (5-0), Saint John's (3-2), Hamline (10-3), and St. Olaf (6-4), face their final two MIAC foes this weekend in Saint Mary's and Augsburg. … The Pointers' scored a season-high 10 goals in their 10-3 win over Hamline last Thursday. It was UW-SP's highest offensive output since an 11-0 win over Finlandia on Nov. 1, 2014. … UW-SP has recorded a five-goal and six-goal period in its last two games—scoring six second-period goals vs. Hamline last Thursday and five third-period goals against St. Olaf last Sunday. … Joe Kalisz has been on an offensive tear of late, recording five assists in the Pointers' 10-3 win over Hamline, while adding his first collegiate hat trick in Sunday's 6-4 come-from-behind win over St. Olaf. … Kalisz's career-high five assists were one shy of the single-game program record, held by Kevin Fricke against UW-Eau Claire on Feb. 20, 1999. … Kalisz has recorded 11 points in his last three games and has at least one point in six consecutive contests. … Kalisz enters Friday's game against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in all three offensive categories—goals (12), assists (13) and points (25). … Lawrence Cornellier is second to Kalisz in goals (11) and points (15), while Alex Brooks is second in assists with 11. … UW-Stevens Point boasts nine players with 10 or more points, and every Pointer who has played a game this season has recorded at least one point. … Max Milosek and Jesse Gordschuik have shared the goaltending duties this season. Milosek owns a 2.09 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage in nine starts, while Gordschuik has a 3.35 GAA and .881 save percentage in five starts. … Milosek has amassed 218 saves and owns the team's lone shutout—a 23-save effort against Concordia on Nov. 13. … The Pointers have scored 69 goals through 14 games—including 27 during their current four-game winning streak. … UW-Stevens Point has netted 17 power-play goals, while allowing just three. … The Pointers have outscored their opponents 69-35—including 21-10 in the first period and 22-11 in the third. … UW-Stevens Point has scored first in 19 of its 14 games, going 8-1-1. The Pointers are 2-2-0 when they opponent scores first. … The Pointers have played two overtime games this season—beating Bethel 4-3 on Nov. 7 and tying Marian 3-3 on Nov. 20. … Two of UW-Stevens Point's three losses have come on the road—the Pointers are 5-1-1 at home, and 5-2-0 away from K.B. Willett Arena.