MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team hits the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to Ed Saugestad Rink for the second game of their two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against league-leading Augsburg. Opening face-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-5-1 MIAC | 8-10-2 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (7-1-1 MIAC | 11-6-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• Augsburg scored four unanswered goals—including three in the first period—as the Auggies handed Saint Mary's a 4-1 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• October 31, 2014 * Blaine, Minn.: There were no tricks for Saint Mary's, as the Cardinals kicked off their 2014-15 season on Halloween with a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase showdown against Augsburg. Unfortunately for coach Bill Moore, there were no treats, either. Augsburg scored a pair of first-period goals and the Cardinals could not get their offense on track, as the Auggies dealt Saint Mary's a season-opening 2-0 nonconference setback at Ramsey County Arena in the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
• February 6, 2014 * Minneapolis, Minn.: For the third straight Friday, Saint Mary's did not allow a goal, as the Cardinals picked up their third straight win—and eighth in their last nine games—shutting out Augsburg 5-0 at the Ed Saugestad Ice Rink | Recap
• February 7, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: After the Cardinals erupted for three goals in the game's opening 20 minutes in Saint Mary's 5-0 MIAC win the previous night, it was the Auggies turn to grab control early in the rematch, as Augsburg scored a pair of goals in the game's opening six minutes to jump out to a 2-0 advantage. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it wasn't the two first-period goals that did them in, but rather the two second-period—and one third-period—tallies, as Augsburg held off Saint Mary's 5-4 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena to earn a split in the teams' two-game conference series | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Friday, heading to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 p.m. conference game against the Gusties. The teams will then return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the 7 p.m. rematch.
• Augsburg: The Auggies kick off their two-game conference series against Hamline at home on Friday, hosting the Pipers in a 7:05 p.m. showdown at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn. The two teams then travel to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 4-1 loss to Augsburg Friday marked just the second time this season Saint Mary's has been held to less than two goals in a game. … Last Saturday's 5-3 win over the Pipers snapped Saint Mary's season-high four-game losing streak—a streak that saw the Cardinals surrender six goals in all four contests. … Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) scored Saint Mary's lone goal against the Auggies Friday night. … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.)—who scored three goals against Hamline last weekend, including two in last Saturday's 5-3 win—has scored four goals in the Cardinals' last four Friday night games. … Gruse's two goals against Hamline last Saturday marked the third time this season—and seventh 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 14 goals, one more than Gruse and five in front of Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.). … Kinne collected three assists in last Saturday's 5-3 win over Hamline. It was the second time in his collegiate career he has had three assists in a game—the first time was also against Hamline on Feb. 20, 2015. … Saint Mary's has now had a player dish out three assists in a game four times this season—Gruse has done it twice, while Kinne and Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) each achieved the feat once. … Gruse has recorded at least one point in 14 of the team's 19 games, while Kinne has notched at least one point in 12 of 19 contests. … Gruse—who posted the third four-point game of his collegiate career against Bethel on Nov. 13—leads the team in points with 28 and Kinne owns a team-best 16 assists. … Gruse is one of eight Cardinals with at least 10 points this season—Kinne (25), Heinle (20),  Johnson (17), Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich. / 16), Wasell (14), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn. / 14), and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill. / 13) are the others. … Drew DePalma (Armada, Mich.) became the third Cardinal to score his first collegiate goal with his first-period tally against Hamline on Jan. 22.  Heinle and Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) have also scored their first goals as a Cardinal this season. … Jake Tugnutt (Peterborough, Ontario), who stopped 22 shots against Augsburg Friday, made a season-high 34 saves in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over Hamline last Saturday. … Tugnutt stopped 23 shots against Aurora on Nov. 29 to record his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) stopped a career-high 45 shots against St. Thomas on Jan. 8. … Hebda earned his first win in a Cardinal uniform with that 45-save showing in Saint Mary's 4-3 victory over St. Thomas on Jan. 8. … Hebda's 45 saves against St. Thomas marked the second straight game a Cardinal goalie posted 45 saves—Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) made a season-high 45 saves against MSOE on Jan. 3. … With their five goals in back-to-back games against Hamline last weekend, the Cardinals have now scored four goals or more in 12 of their 20 games. … With their five-goal efforts against Hamline, the Cardinals have scored 82 goals in their first 19 games. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 28-20 in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's is 7-1-2 when scoring first, while going 1-9-0 in games in which the Cardinals' opponent scores first. … The Cardinals had eight different players record at least two points in the two-game series sweep vs. Aurora on Nov. 28-29. … 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' 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. … 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 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. … The Cardinals 6-2 loss to fourth-ranked UW-Stevens Point last Friday was their fourth game 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. … Last Friday's 6-5 loss to Hamline was the Cardinals' third overtime game of the season. Saint Mary's is 0-1-2 in those three contests, falling to the Pipers and tying UW-Eau Claire and St. Olaf. … 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 Augsburg Auggies:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• With Friday's win over Saint Mary's—which extended the Auggies' unbeaten streak to three (2-0-1)—Augsburg remained in sole possession of first place in the conference standings with 22 points, two points in front of St. Thomas and three up on Saint John's. … Augsburg snapped a two-game losing streak with last Friday's 4-3 win over Concordia. … The Auggies have dropped back-to-back games twice this season, while putting together winning streaks of three and five games. … Augsburg's 3-3 tie vs. Concordia last Saturday was the Auggies' fourth overtime game of the season—and the first to end in a tie. Augsburg beat River Falls (2-1), and lost to UW-Superior (4-3) and Gustavus (4-3) in its other three OT contests. … Drew Anderson—who recorded his first collegiate two-goal game in the Auggies' 4-3 win over Concordia on Jan. 22—scored his third goal in the last three games against Saint Mary's, while Eric Brenk, Will Peterson, and Trevor Stewart accounted for Augsburg's other three goals vs. the Cardinals Friday. … Brenk has now scored a goal in three straight games. … Nate Flynn heads into Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's with a team-leading 11 goals, while also leading the team in points with 22. … Rory Vesel owns a team-best 13 assists, two more than Flynn. … Augsburg boasts seven players with 10 or more points—Flynn (22), Eli May (16), Vesel (14), Corbin Chapman (14), Mack Ohnsted (12), Anderson (11), and Luke Dietsch (10). … Augsburg's 11 game-winning goals this season have come from 11 different players. … Eighteen Auggies have accounted for the team's 65 goals. … Jordyn Kaufer—who made 21 saves vs. Saint Mary's Friday—has started 14 of the team's 18 games in goal, compiling a 2.35 goals-against-average and a .911 save percentage. … Kaufer has made 337 saves this season and owns a 10-4-0 record. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents in every period—including 22-15 in the second and 24-16 in the third. … The Auggies have scored first in 11 of their first 18 games. Augsburg is 9-1-1 when scoring first, and just 2-5-0 when its opponent scores first. … Friday's 5-1 win over Saint Mary's was the Auggies' 11^th victory of the season—Augsburg has now reached double digits in victories for the third straight season and sixth time in the last seven seasons under head coach Chris Brown.