MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off post-season play on Thursday, traveling to the Moorhead Sports Center for a 4 p.m. showdown with Concordia
 
The Matchup:
• #5 Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-12-3 Overall) at #4 Concordia Cobbers (13-11-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats  | MIAC Playoff Homepage | Playoff Bracket | Video Preview
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out their regular-season schedule with a split against St. Catherine last weekend, falling to the Wildcats 4-2 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before rebounding with a 2-0 win over SCU a day later at Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn. | SCU Recap 1 * SCU Recap 2
• Concordia: The Cobbers head into post-season play on the heels of back-to-back shutout losses to Bethel last weekend. CC was shut out 3-0 in last Friday's opener vs. the Royals in Blaine, Minn., before suffering a 5-0 setback a day later | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia—Earlier This Year:
• December 4, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's erupted for four goals—including two from McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.)—as the Cardinals handed Concordia its first conference loss of the season, beating the Cobbers 4-2 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• December 5, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: A day after erupting for four goals—one goal shy of their season high—in a 4-2 win over Concordia, the Cardinals' offense could not get on track Saturday in the teams' rematch, as the Cobbers scored single goals in the second and third periods in dealing Saint Mary's a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
How They Got Here:
• Concordia: Despite dropping its final two regular-season games against Bethel last weekend, the Cobbers secured the MIAC Playoffs' No. 4 seed after finishing 11-7-0 in conference play.
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals closed out the regular season with a split in their conference series against St. Catherine, closing out the conference schedule with a 9-7-2—tied for the fifth and final MIAC playoff spot with Gustavus. The Cardinals and Gusties split their two-game, regular-season series, and Saint Mary's beat GAC in the second tiebreaker—most MIAC wins—9-8 to give the Cardinals the No. 5 post-season slot.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• With their 2-0 win over St. Catherine in their regular-season finale, the Cardinals head into post-season play 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. … With their 4-2 loss and 2-0 win vs. St. Catherine last weekend, 22 of the Cardinals' last 24 games have been decided by two goals or less. … Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) each posted two-goal games to accounted for Saint Mary's four goals against St. Catherine last weekend. Hannula scored both Saint Mary's goals against the Wildcats last Friday, with Katie LeTourneau (White Bear Lake, Minn.) and Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill.) collecting assists. … Hannula's two-goal game vs. the Wildcats was the third multiple-goal game of her collegiate career. … Henderson, meanwhile, netted both Saint Mary's goals in last Saturday's 2-0 Cardinal with—with Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.) and McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) picking up assists. … Henderson enters post-season play as the team-leader in goals with 13, while also leading the team in points with 20, one more than Parent. … Henderson's 13 goals are the most by a Cardinal since Melissa Mondo netted 15 during the 2006-07 season. … Parent—who posted her first collegiate two-goal game against Concordia on Dec. 4—leads the team in assists with 10, three more than Henderson and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.). … Parent (19) and Lien (11) join Henderson as Cardinals who have recorded 10 or more points this season. … Lien recorded her second collegiate two-goal game against Hamline on Jan. 22. … Henderson and Parent each posted their first collegiate three-point games against St. Olaf on Nov. 21, while Macki Fadness (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Lien both notched career-best two-assist nights in that same game. … Maddy Wallraff's (Blaine, Minn.) second-period goal against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 2 was the first of her collegiate career. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) recorded her third straight Saturday shutout with the Cardinals' 2-0 win over St. Catherine. The senior goalie—who made 21 saves against St. Catherine last Saturday—has now blanked Gustavus, Saint Benedict, and St. Catherine in her last three Saturday starts. … Herrmann finished with 20 saves against St. Catherine Friday. … Herrmann's shutout against Saint Benedict last Saturday was the fourth of her collegiate career. … Herrmann has made 30 or more saves in seven of her 13 starts this season. … Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.) has made 30 or more saves in four of her seven starts this season. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) stopped 42 St. Norbert shots in her collegiate debut between the pipes on Nov. 28. … Herrmann—who notched her first collegiate assist in the Cardinals' 1-1 tie against Bethel on Nov. 14—has made 15 starts in goal for the Cardinals, going 9-4-2 with a 1.45 goals-against-average and .951 save percentage. … Herrmann's 1.45 GAA and .951 save percentage both rank No. 2 in the MIAC. … Shields (7 starts, 2.47 GAA, 940 save percentage) recorded a school-record 79 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to UW-Superior on Oct. 31. … The 79-save effort—which ranks No. 6 all-time in NCAA Division III history—is 24 saves more than the previous record of 55, set by Nikki Jung against Gustavus on Jan. 21, 2005. … Shields made 22 saves in the first period, 33 in the second, and 24 in the third en route to her 79-save performance. … With their 2-0 win over Gustavus on Feb. 6, the Cardinals snapped a 28-game losing streak against the Gusties. Prior to Saturday's win, the last time Saint Mary's had beaten GAC was a 2-1 win in the MIAC Tournament on March 2, 2002. … The Cardinals have played seven overtime games this season—falling to Gustavus (3-2), Hamline (2-1), UW-Eau Claire (2-1), and UW-Eau Claire (3-2), while tying UW-Eau Claire (1-1), Bethel (1-1), and Augsburg (1-1). … The Cardinals', 0-4-3 in overtimes this season, last OT win was a 3-2 victory over St. Olaf on Jan. 31, 2015. … Saint Mary's played six OT games a year ago, going 2-1-3. … All three of Saint Mary's ties this season have been 1-1 decisions. … The Cardinals have scored first in all nine of their wins this season (10-6-1). Saint Mary's is 0-6-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … With their 4-2 win over Hamline on Jan. 22, the Cardinals snapped their season-high seven-game winless streak (0-6-2). … The Cardinals' five-goal effort against UW-Superior in their 5-2 season-opening win on Oct. 30 was the Cardinals' highest offensive output since netting five goals in a 5-3 win over Hamline on Feb. 23, 2014. … The Cardinals' games against St. Thomas on Jan. 15-16 marked the third and fourth straight games against teams ranked in the Top 5 of the latest USCHO.com national poll. Along with their two conference games vs. No. 4 St. Thomas, Saint Mary's dropped 2-1 and 4-2 decisions to third-ranked Lake Forest the previous weekend. … With their 5-2 win over UW-Superior on Oct. 30, the Cardinals snapped a four-game season-opening winless streak (0-3-1). Saint Mary's last season-opening win was a 5-0 victory over Marian on Oct. 29, 2010.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2015-16 Roster | 2015-16 Statistics | 2015-16 Schedule
• Concordia enters post-season play on the heels of back-to-back shutout losses to Bethel last weekend. … The Cobbers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped with last Friday's 3-0 loss at Bethel, are 4-6-0 in their last 10 games. … Concordia was the only team in the MIAC not to have a conference tie this season—all nine other schools had at least to games end in a tie. … Seven of Concordia's 13 wins have come via shutout—including a four-game stretch in which the Cobbers outscored their opponents 12-0. … Tori Davis heads into the Cobbers' playoff opener against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with 16 and points with 21. … Jess Nelson is the team-leader in assists (15) and is second to Davis in points (20). … The Cobbers boast six players with 10 or more points—Davis (21), Nelson (20), Amber Schaack (16), Anna Westmark (13), Jessica Kongelf (12), and Ellen Rethwisch (10). … Concordia has scored 61 goals this season, including 12 power-play goals and three short-handed tallies. … Davis owns five of the team's 13 game-winning goals—including an overtime game-winner against St. Thomas on Feb. 6. … Concordia heads into post-season play boasting a 10-3-1 record at home—the Cobbers are 3-8-0 away from the Moorhead Sports Center. … The Cobbers have played three overtime games this season, going 1-1-1—CC beat St. Thomas (1-0), lost to UW-Stevens Point (5-4), and tied UW-River Falls (0-0). … The Cobbers have been outscored 62-61 this season. CC holds a 20-18 scoring edge in the second period, but has been outscored 17-15 in the first and 26-25 in the third. … The Cobbers are 11-2-0 when scoring first, while going 2-9-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.