WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off the 2016 portion of its schedule on Sunday, entertaining Milwaukee School of Engineering in a 5 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-4-2 Overall) vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders (7-3-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals have been off since Dec. 4-5, when Saint Mary's dropped back-to-back conference games at Concordia, falling 6-3 in the opener on Dec. 5, before being shut out 2-0 in the rematch a day later | Concordia Recap 1 * Concordia Recap 2
• MSOE: The Raiders have not played since Dec. 11-12, when the collected back-to-back wins over UW-Superior in Superior, Wis., beating the Yellowjackets 3-2 and 4-2 | UW-Superior Recap 1 * UW-Superior Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering—A Year Ago:
• January 4, 2015 * Milwaukee, Wis.: After erupting for 11 goals in their final game of 2014—an 11-2 rout of Aurora on Dec. 3—Saint Mary's was hoping to pick up right where they left off when they took to the ice for their first game of 2015. Unfortunately, one thing was glaringly missing against Milwaukee School of Engineering—that explosive Cardinal offense. The Raiders scored the game's four goals—one in the first, two in the second and another in the third—in handing Saint Mary's a 4-0 nonconference setback at the Kern Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, hosting St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
• MSOE: The Raiders are back in conference play on Friday, traveling to Lake Forest, Ill., for a 7 p.m. MCHA matchup with Lake Forest.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 6-3 loss to Concordia on Dec. 4 snapped their season-high eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2). The streak was the longest since Saint Mary's went 7-0-1 during the 1996-97 season. … With their three goals against Concordia, the Cardinals have now scored 57 goals in their first 12 games (4.75 gpg)—ranking No. among the top 10 in NCAA Division III. … Saint Mary's 2-0 loss to Concordia on Dec. 5 marked the first time this season the Cardinals have failed to score at least three goals in a game. … Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) had a hand in two of the Cardinals' three goals vs. Concordia, finishing with a goal and an assist. Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) and Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) accounted for Saint Mary's other two goals Friday. … After not scoring a goal in his first year as a Cardinal, Heinle has now netted a goal in seven of the team's 12 games—and leads the team with 10 goals, two more than 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 Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.). … Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) has recorded at least one point in nine of the team's 12 games, including 15 in his last seven contests (5 G, 10 A). … Kinne has notched at least one point in eight of 12 games—including 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in Saint Mary's last eight contests. … Saint Mary's has had a player dish out three assists in a game three times—Gruse has done it twice, while Wasell has 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 (13) and points (19). … Gruse's 13 assists lead the nation. … Gruse is one of eight Cardinals with at least 10 points this season—Kinne (17), Wasell (14), Johnson (14), Heinle (12), Cesarz (10), Albergo (10), and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn. / 10) are the others. … Heinle and Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) have each scored their first collegiate goals 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. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who made 53 saves in two starts vs. the Cobbers on Dec. 4-5, heads into Sunday's game against MSOE owning a 2.97 goals-against-average and an .890 save percentage. The junior goalie has made 233 saves in 10 starts. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 22-7 in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's is 5-0-2 when scoring the game's first goal, while going 1-4-0 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 have faced two nationally ranked teams this season, collecting a 4-2 win over 10th-ranked UW-River Falls and battling No. 8 UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 tie. … 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. … With their 5-4 loss to Gustavus on Oct. 30, the Cardinals fell to 0-3-0 in their last three season openers. Saint Mary's last season-opening win was a 7-2 victory over Bethel on Oct. 27, 2012.
 
Scouting The Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Sunday's game against Saint Mary's is the fifth of six straight road games for MSOE. … With their sweep of UW-Superior on Dec. 11-12, the Raiders pushed their winning streak to a season-high four straight. … MSOE has allowed two goals or less in eight of its 10 games this season—including two goals or fewer in each of its last six contests. … The Raiders' last seven games have all been decided by two goals or less. … Conner Enciso has netted a team-leading five goals, two more than both Omar Mullan and James Ring, while Gage Christianson is the team leader in both assists (11) and points (12). … Three of Enciso's five goals came against Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 6, when he accounted for three of the Raiders' four goals in a 4-1 victory. … Zach Simpson has scored two goals this season—and both were game-winners. … Nick Kohn has started nine of the team's 10 games in goal, compiling a 1.78 goals-against-average and a .937 save percentage. … Kohn has stopped 239 of the 255 shots he's faced. … MSOE has outscored its opponents in all three periods—9-6 in both the first and second, and 10-6 in the third. … The Raiders have played on overtime game this season, falling to Northland 2-1 on Nov. 14. … MSOE is 4-2-0 when scoring the game's first goal. The Raiders are 3-1-0 when their opponent scores first.