WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host Bethel in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC, 1-1-2 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (0-0-0 MIAC, 1-3-0 Overall)
 
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• Live Stats * Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 4-5, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals went 1-0-1 in their two nonconference games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena last weekend, rallying from a 3-0 deficit to tie No. 8 UW-Eau Claire 3-3 last Friday, before collecting a 5-3 win over UW-River Falls a day later | UWEC Recap * UWRF Recap
• Bethel—November 4-5, 2016 * Blaine, Minn.: The Royals split their two nonconference games at the Schwan's Super Rink last weekend. Bethel picked up its first win of the season with a 6-2 win over UW-Stout last Friday, before falling to defending national champion and top-ranked UW-Stevens Point 5-2 the following day | UWS Recap * UWSP 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:
• The Cardinals and Royals head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., on Saturday for the second game of the teams' two-game MIAC series. Puck drops at 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's conference-opener against Bethel is the third straight home game for the Cardinals. … Last Saturday's 5-3 win over UW-River Falls was the Cardinals' first win of the season. … Last Saturday's victory over UW-River Falls was the Cardinals' first non-overtime game of the season—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 last Friday marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that has ended in a 3-3 deadlock. … After having seven players account for their first eight goals of the season, the Cardinals had a pair of multiple-goal scorers in their 5-3 win over UW-River Falls. Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) each scored twice vs. the Falcons, while Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) netted the other goal. … Kinne has now scored a goal in three of the Cardinals' first four games. … Walz's two-goal game against UW-River Falls last Saturday 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. It was his first collegiate three-assist game. … Along with his team-leading two goals, Kinne also leads the team in points with four—one more than Albergo and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Wis.). … Albergo and Gruse share the team lead in assists with three each. … Saint Mary's 13 goals have come from nine different players—including collegiate firsts from Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) and Joey Mavrin (Lockport, Ill.). … Thirteen different players have accounted for Saint Mary's 18 assists. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) finished with 23 saves in the Cardinals' 3-3 tie against UW-Eau Claire last Friday. It's the second time in two starts Heinle has earned a 3-3 tie, having stopped 27 shots against St. Thomas on Oct. 28. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) finished with 28 saves against UW-River Falls last Saturday en route to his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Saint Mary's has scored four power-play goals this season, going 4-for-23 with the man advantage. … The Cardinals have scored five goals in both the first and third periods, while Saint Mary's opponents have netted five goals in both the first and second periods. … Last Saturday's win against UW-River Falls marked the first time this season the Cardinals have scored the game's first goal.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Last Friday's 6-2 win over UW-Stout 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 scored a pair of goals against UW-Stout, while Andrew Bjorklund, Jay Paul, Dallas Marvin, and Johan Kling accounted for the other four. … Jeff Flicker and Jackson Purvis netted the Royals' two goals vs. No. 1 UW-Stevens Point last Saturday. … Bonanno enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with four, while sharing the team lead in points (5) with Marvin. … George Splichal and Michael Bond share the team lead in assists with four each. … Bjorklund, Purvis, Spiichal, and Bond are all second to Bonanno and Marvin with four points apiece. … Six of Bethel's 14 goals have come on the power play. The Royals' six power-play goals have come from six different players. … Jesse Garcia and Joe Sheppard have split the goaltending duties for the Royals, with both making two starts. … Garcia owns a 4.52 goals-against-average and an .893 save percentage, while Sheppard boasts a 3.52 GAA and an .887 save percentage. … Sheppard made 24 saves in earning the win against UW-Stout last Friday. … The Royals have outscored their opponents 6-3 in the third period, but BU has been outscored 7-3 in the first and 7-5 in the second. … BU's six goals against UW-Stout last Friday were a season-high. … The Royals have given up the game's first goal in all four contests this season.