WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team steps out of conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-Eau Claire in a 4 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2-1 Overall) vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (5-3-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 17/19, 2016 * Northfield, Minn. / Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals settled for a split in their MIAC series against St. Olaf last weekend, securing a 6-3 victory in the opener in Northfield, Minn., on Nov. 17, before dropping a 4-3 decision in the rematch on Nov. 19 | St. Olaf Recap 1 * St. Olaf Recap 2
• UW-Eau Claire—November 18-19 * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Blugolds split their two WIAC contests last weekend in Eau Claire, Wis., falling to UW-Superior 3-1 on Nov. 18, before rebounding with a 4-2 victory over second-ranked UW-River Falls | UW-Superior Recap * UW-River Falls Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire—A Year Ago:
• January 1, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: It took nearly 58 minutes, but the timing of their first goal could not have been better for Saint Mary's. The Cardinals—stymied by UW-Eau Claire goalie Paige Turner all night—finally beat the senior goalie on a goal by Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) with just 2:07 remaining in regulation, lifting Saint Mary's to a 1-1 overtime tie in the teams' nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 2, 2016 * Eau Claire, Wis.: For the second time in as many days, Saint Mary's found itself heading to overtime, deadlocked with UW-Eau Claire 1-1. Unfortunately, unlike Friday's 1-1 tie, the Blugolds found a way to net the overtime game-winner, as Danielle Lucker scored an unassisted power play goal 1:52 into the extra session to lift UW-Eau Claire to a 2-1 win over the Cardinals at Hobbes Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals head to Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against Concordia next weekend. Saint Mary's and CC will square off at 7 p.m. at the Moorhead Sports Center on Friday, before returning for a 2 p.m. rematch a day later.
• UW-Eau Claire: The Blugolds are back on the ice—and back on the road—on Tuesday, traveling to the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Gustavus.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire is the second of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who are still searching for their first home win of the season—0-1-1 in their previous two games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Saint Mary's 4-3 loss to St. Olaf in the teams' rematch last Saturday snapped the Cardinals' two-game unbeaten streak (1-0-1). … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17 were a season high—and the highest single-game offensive output since scoring six against both Marian and Hamline during the 2009-2010 season. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against St. Olaf on Nov. 17, and followed that up with another goal in the teams' second meeting last Saturday. … Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.), Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.), and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) accounted for Saint Mary's other four goals in the 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 16, while Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) and Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) joined Hafiz as goal-scorers in the 4-3, Game 2 loss to the Oles. … Hafiz has now recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' six games this season—including four multiple-point games. … Hafiz heads into Saturday's nonconference game against UW-Eau Claire leading the team in all three offensive categories—goals (6), assists (4), and points (10). … Henderson is second to Hafiz in goals with four, with Cwik, Hannula, and Lien tied for third with three. … Hafiz's goal at 9:50 of the opening period against Marian was her first collegiate goal—as well as the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … The Cardinals boast three players who have netted their first collegiate goals this season—Hafiz, Ryan, and Wendt. … Saint Mary's scored a pair of shorthanded goals against St. Olaf on Nov. 17—back-to-back tallies by Hannula and Lien less than a minute apart midway through the second period. … Eight of the Cardinals' 19 goals have come on special teams—four power-play and four shorthanded. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) made a season-high 25 saves against St. Olaf on Nov. 17. The sophomore is now 1-0-1 in her last two starts—stopping 20 shots in the Cardinals' 2-2 tie against Bethel on Nov. 12. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) equaled her season-high with 32 saves in the second game against St. Olaf on Nov. 19. Shields also posted 32 saves in Saint Mary's 5-4 win against St. Norbert on Oct. 29. … Corcoran owns a 2.63 goals-against-average and an .893 save percentage, while Shields has a 4.92 GAA and an .871 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 goals in the second and eight in the third, while the Cardinals' opponents have netted 11 goals in both the second and third periods. … The Cardinals have not allowed a first-period goal all season. … The Cardinals have scored first in five of their six games—going 2-2-1. Saint Mary's is 1-0-0 when its opponent scores first. … Four of the Cardinals' six games have been decided by one goal or less—Saint Mary's opened the season with one-goal wins over Marian (4-3) and St. Norbert (5-4), and added a 2-2 tie vs. Bethel and a 4-3 loss against St. Olaf. … Saint Mary's wins over Marian and St. Norbert on Oct. 28-29 marked the first time the Cardinals have opened the year with back-to-back wins since beating the same two teams to open the 2010-11 season. … The Cardinals' combined nine goals against St. Olaf are the most in a two-game weekend series since netting nine in sweeping Marian 6-0 and 3-2 on Jan. 9-10, 2010. … Saint Mary's and St. Norbert scored seven third-period goals in their nonconference game on Oct. 29—including five in the game's final 1:33.  
 
Scouting The UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back road games for the Blugolds. … Saturday's game vs. Saint Mary's is the fifth of 13 games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-EC has already faced St. Thomas (W, 4-1), Hamline (L, 4-3), Gustavus (L, 3-1), and St. Olaf (2-0), and still has Saint Mary's (twice), Gustavus, Saint Benedict, Hamline, St. Catherine, St. Olaf, and Augsburg (twice) on its schedule. … The Blugolds' 4-2 win over No. 2 UW-River Falls on Nov. 19 was their first against the Falcons since a 3-2 win in 2008. … Lauren Norgren scored the Blugolds' lone goal in their WIAC-opening 3-1 loss to UW-Superior on Nov. 18, while Courtney Wittig netted a pair of goals, and Mariah Czech and Jaedyn Walz also found the back of the net in UW-EC's upset of second-ranked UW-River Falls the following day. … With her two tallies against UW-River Falls, Wittig pushed her team-leading goal total to eight. … Wittig also leads the team in points with eight, one more than Walz and Elizabeth Bauer. … Bauer is the team's assist leader with six, two in front of Walz. … Wittig scored four of her team-leading eight goals in the Blugolds' 8-3 win over Finlandia on Oct. 29. … The Blugolds have used three different goalies this season. Erin Conolly has compiled a 2.02 goals-against-average and a .900 save percentage in five starts, while Molly Scarborough has a 3.36 GAA and .794 save percentage in two starts, and Anna Veazey stopped all 14 shots she faced in blanking St. Olaf in her lone start this season. … Conolly leads the goaltending trio with 90 saves. … UW-Eau Claire has outscored its opponents 10-3 in the first period, while holding 8-7 and 7-6 advantages in the second and third periods, respectively. … The Blugolds have played one overtime game this season, falling to Hamline 4-3 on Nov. 4. … UW-Eau Claire has scored first in five of its eight games this season, going 4-1-0. The Blugolds are 1-2-0 when they opponent nets the game's first goal.