WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team steps out of conference play for the final time this season on Saturday, hosting UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (7-7-2 Overall) vs. UW-Stout Blue Devils (8-4-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Night:
• Saint Mary's: UW-Stevens Point scored two goals in all three periods, as the fourth-ranked Pointers handed the Cardinals a 6-2 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• UW-Stout: The Blue Devils erupted for three third-period goals—including an empty netter with 27 seconds remaining—in handing St. Thomas a 5-3 nonconference setback at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout—Their Last Meeting:
• November 4, 2010 * Winona, Minn.: For the second consecutive game, Saint Mary's skated right with its opponent—right down to the final buzzer. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, for the second consecutive game, they fell just short, falling to UW-Stout 4-3 in the Cardinals' home opener at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next Friday, heading to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with Hamline. The two teams will then travel to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
• UW-Stout: The Blue Devils once again step out of conference play on Thursday, hosting UW-Superior in a 7:30 p.m. matchup in Menomonie, Wis.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals game against fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point Friday night was their fourth against a nationally ranked team this season. Saint Mary's also collected a 4-2 win over 10^th-ranked UW-River Falls, battled No. 8 UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 tie, and fell to No. 15 MSOE 6-4. … Friday's loss against UW-Stevens Point was just the Cardinals' second loss on their home ice this season (5-2-0). … Saint Mary's 4-3 victory over St. Thomas on Jan. 8 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 their win over St. Thomas on Jan. 8, the Cardinals have now scored four goals or more in 10 of their 16 games. … With their two goals against UW-Stevens Point Friday, the Cardinals have now scored 69 goals in their first 16 games—ranking No. 2 in the MIAC and No. 8 in all of NCAA Division III. … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in Friday's 6-2 loss to UW-Stevens Point. … Gruse—who scored a pair of goals against St. Thomas on Jan. 8—has now scored three goals in the Cardinals' last two Friday games. … Gruse's two goals against UST on Jan. 8 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, two more than Gruse and three in front of Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.). … 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 Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) 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 13 of the team's 16 games, while Kinne has notched at least one point in 11 of 16 contests. … 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 (25). … Gruse is one of eight Cardinals with at least 10 points this season—Kinne (21), Heinle (16), Johnson (15), Wasell (14), Cesarz (13), Walz (14), and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill. / 12) are the others. … Heinle and Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) have each scored their first collegiate goals this season. … Jake Tugnutt (Peterborough, Ontario) made 26 saves against UW-Stevens Point in his second collegiate start. … Tugnutt made his first collegiate start in goal against Aurora on Nov. 29, stopping 23 shots to record his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) stopped a career-high 45 shots—including 20 in the third period—against the Tommies on Jan. 8, 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 on Jan. 8. … 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. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 25-17 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 1-6-0 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-Stout Blue Devils:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• With their win over St. Thomas Friday, the Blue Devils pushed their unbeaten streak to five straight (4-0-1). … After opening the season 1-2-2, UW-Stout has gone 7-2-1 over its last 10 games. … Saint Mary's is the final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent for the Blue Devils, who have gone 6-1-2 against the MIAC this season. … The Blue Devils' last two wins—over Gustavus and St. Thomas—have both been 5-3 decisions. … The Blue Devils' five goals against St. Thomas Friday came from five different players—Tate Rusk, Nolan Kirley, Tyler Cayemberg, Jake Useldinger, and Gavin Smith. … Useldinger and Cayemberg also added two assists for three-point nights against the Tommies, while Craig Lindegard chipped in two assists. … Joe Anderson recorded his first collegiate hat trick in the Blue Devils' 5-3 win over Gustavus last Saturday. … Anderson's hat trick was the second by a Blue Devil this season—Cayemberg had the other against Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 21. … With their goals against UST, Useldinger and Cayemberg moved into a tie with Anderson for the team lead in goals with six each. … Useldinger and Justin Moody are the team's assist leaders with eight, while Useldinger owns the team lead in points with 14—one more than Cayemberg and Moody. … The Blue Devils boast five players with 10 or more points—Useldinger (14), Cayemberg (13), Moody (13), Anderson (12), and Danny Ray (10). … UW-Stout's eight game-winning goals have come from seven different players. … Fifteen of the Blue Devils' 48 goals have come on the power play. … Nick Schmit made 36 saves in helping the Blue Devils beat St. Thomas Friday evening. … UW-Stout has used three different goalies through 15 games. Spencer Viele leads the way with a 1.71 goals-against-average and a .948 save percentage in six starts. Schmit (3.05 GAA, .917 save percentage) and Chase Hollander (3.51 GAA, .864 save percentage) and have four and five starts, respectively. … Viele owns the team's lone shutout, stopping all 30 shots in UW-Stout's scoreless stalemate against Gustavus on Nov. 7. … UW-Stout has scored five or more goals five times this season—including a season-high six goals in a 6-2 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 4. … UW-Stout has outscored its opponents 48-42 through 15 games—including 24-18 in the third period. … The Blue Devils are 6-1-0 when scoring first, while going 2-3-2 in games in which their opponent nets the first goal. … UW-Stout has played two overtime games, with both ending in a tie—3-3 vs. Finlandia on Oct. 30 and 0-0 vs. Gustavus on Nov. 7.