ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to the Schwan's Super Rink for a 7 p.m. rematch with Bethel.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-0 MIAC, 2-1-2 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-1-0 MIAC, 1-4-0 Overall)
 
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Last Night:
• Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) scored first-period goals less than two minutes apart and the Cardinals held on for a 2-1 win over Bethel in the teams' MIAC opener at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• November 13, 2015 * Blaine, Minn.: It took Saint Mary's 20 minutes to get their offense warmed up, but once they did, Bethel had no chance. The Cardinals erupted for eight unanswered goals—including two in the final nine seconds of the second period and another with one second remaining in the third—as Saint Mary's opened Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 10-2 victory over the Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
• November 14, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick—the Cardinals' second in as many nights—as Saint Mary's completed its conference sweep of the Royals with a 9-1 victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. conference showdown.
• Bethel: The Royals are back on their home ice at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., on Friday, playing host to St. Thomas. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's conference-opener against Bethel was the third straight home game for the Cardinals. … With the Cardinals' 2-1 win over Bethel, Saint Mary's has now won back-to-back games. … Four of Saint Mary's five games this season have been decided by one goal or less—the lone exception, a 5-3 win over UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. … Three of the Cardinals' five games this season have gone into overtime—Saint Mary's opened the year with a 3-3 tie against St. Thomas and a 3-2 OT loss to Concordia, before battling UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 deadlock last Friday. … With their 3-3 tie against No. 8 UW-Eau Claire, Saint Mary's is now 0-2-4 in their last six overtime games. The Cardinals' last OT win was a 4-3, double-overtime victory over Concordia in the 2015 MIAC Playoffs. … The Cardinals' 3-3 tie against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 4 marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that has ended in a 3-3 deadlock. … Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) accounted for Saint Mary's two goals vs. Bethel Friday. … Kinne has now scored in four of the team's five games, while Meeh's tally was the first of his collegiate career. … Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) each posted two-goal games against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. … Walz's two-goal game against UW-River Falls was the first multiple-goal game of his career. … Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) picked up assists on three of Saint Mary's five goals vs. UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. It was his first collegiate three-assist game. … Along with his team-leading four goals, Kinne also leads the team in points with five—one more than Albergo, who leads the team with four assists. … Saint Mary's 15 goals have come from 10 different players—including collegiate firsts from Meeh, Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) and Joey Mavrin (Lockport, Ill.). … Fourteen different players have accounted for Saint Mary's 22 assists. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) finished with 16 saves in the Cardinals' 2-1 win over Bethel Friday. … Heinle is now unbeaten (1-0-2) in his three starts, having also been in goal during Saint Mary's 3-3 ties vs. St. Thomas and UW-Eau Claire. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) finished with 28 saves against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 en route to his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Heinle heads into Saturday's rematch with Bethel owning a 2.79 goals-against-average and a .904 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored five power-play goals this season, going 5-for-29 with the man advantage. … The Cardinals have now scored first in each of its two wins this season.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• With their 2-1 loss to Saint Mary's, the Royals have now dropped four of their first five games this season. … BU's 6-2 win over UW-Stout on Nov. 4 was the Royals' first win of the season—snapping their season-opening two-game losing streak. … Bethel's first two losses—to Augsburg and Hamline—were both decided by 5-3 decisions. … Justin Bonanno netted the Royals' lone goal against Saint Mary's and has now scored in two of the team's last three games. … Bonanno scored a pair of goals against UW-Stout on Nov. 4. … Bonanno enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (5) and points (6). … Dallas Marvin, Andrew Bjorklund, and Jeff Flicker are second to Bonanno with two goals each, while Marvin is second in points with five. … George Spilchal and Michael Bond are the team leaders in assists with four each. … Seven of Bethel's 14 goals have come on the power play. The Royals' seven power-play goals have come from seven different players. … Jesse Garcia and Joe Sheppard have split the goaltending duties for the Royals, with Sheppard making three starts and Garcia two. … Sheppard finished with a season-high 41 saves in the Royals' 2-1 loss to Saint Mary's Friday. … Garcia owns a 4.52 goals-against-average and an .893 save percentage, while Sheppard boasts a 3.02 GAA and a .914 save percentage. … The Royals have outscored their opponents 6-3 in the third period, but BU has been outscored 8-3 in the first and 7-6 in the second. … BU's six goals against UW-Stout on Nov. 4 were a season-high. … The Royals have given up the game's first goal in all five contests this season.