WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-4-1 MIAC, 4-8-1 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (2-2-2 MIAC, 3-6-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 6-7, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals came up empty in their two nonconference games against seventh-ranked Lake Forest last weekend, falling 4-0 and 5-0 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Lake Forest Recap 1 * Lake Forest Recap 2
• St. Thomas—January 11, 2017 * Mendota Heights, Minn.: UW-Stevens Point scored four goals in the game's first 22 minutes, as the Pointers handed the Tommies a 6-1 nonconference setback at St. Thomas Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• January 16, 2016 * Mendota Heights, Minn.: St. Thomas—ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com national poll—scored a pair of goals in a five-minute span in the third period to break open a 1-1 tie and lift the Tommies to a 3-1 win over Saint Mary's at the St. Thomas Ice Arena | Recap
• January 17, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: A day after falling to the St. Thomas 3-1, the Tommies once again showed Saint Mary's why they are among the nation's best in the team's conference rematch—erupting for four second-period goals en route to a 5-0 MIAC victory over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Tommies conclude their two-game MIAC series on Saturday, as the two teams head to St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for a 2 p.m. conference showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against St. Thomas is the third straight home games for the Cardinals, who are still searching for their first win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena this season (0-4-1). … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.), who recorded a season- and career-high 38 saves in Saint Mary's 3-1 win over UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 10, stopped 32 of the 36 Lake Forest shots she faced in last Friday's 4-0 loss to the seventh-ranked Foresters. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) and Emma Tschida (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) combined to make 26 saves in Saint Mary's rematch with the Foresters last Saturday. Shields kicked out 26 Forester shots, while Tschida—making her first collegiate appearance between the pipes for Saint Mary's—stopped all five shots she faced in relief. … Corcoran has now made 30 or more saves in each of her last four starts—having also posted back-to-back 30-save efforts against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 26 and Concordia on Dec. 3. … Shields finished with a season-high 33 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 9 and has made 30 or more saves in four of her six starts this season. … Corcoran owns a team-leading 2.98 goals-against-average and an .903 save percentage, while Shields has a 4.58 GAA and an .876 save percentage. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.), who recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' first six games this season—including four multiple-point games—leads, or shares the team lead, in all three offensive categories—goals (6), assists (4), and points (10). … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) is tied for the team lead in assists (4) and is second in goals (4). … 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. … Hannah Croonquist's (St. Paul, Minn.) first-half tally against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 10 was the first of her collegiate career. … Croonquist became the fourth player to net her first goal as a Cardinal this season, joining Hafiz, Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). … Saint Mary's scored a pair of shorthanded goals against St. Olaf on Nov. 17—back-to-back tallies by Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) less than a minute apart midway through the second period. … Nine of the Cardinals' 26 goals have come on special teams—five power-play and four shorthanded. … 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. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 goals in the second period and 11 in the third, while the Cardinals' opponents have netted 19 goals in the second and 22 in the third. … The Cardinals' 3-1 win over UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 10 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … The Cardinals have scored first in six of their 13 games—going 3-2-1. Saint Mary's is 1-6-0 when its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals have played four games 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 on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 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 St. Thomas Tommies:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third in four days for the Tommies—who played back-to-back nonconference games against UW-Superior (W, 3-1) and UW-Stevens Point (L, 6-1) on Tuesday and Wednesday. … Wednesday's 6-1 loss to UW-Stevens Point snapped UST's two-game winning streak. … UW-Stevens Point's six goals Wednesday were the most allowed by the Tommies this season. On the flip side, UST scored a season-high six goals in a 6-2 win over Hamline on Jan. 3. … St. Thomas has allowed more than two goals in a game just three times this season—falling to UW-Eau Claire 4-1, tying Bethel 4-4, and losing to UW-Stevens Point 6-1. … Anna Williams scored the Tommies' lone goal against UW-Stevens Point Wednesday—it was her first collegiate goal. … Kathryn Larson heads into this weekend's showdown with Saint Mary's leading the team in assists (6) and points (12). … Leah Schwartzman is the team's goal-scoring leader with seven, and is second to Larson in points with 10. … Seven of St. Thomas' 25 goals have come on special teams—six power-play goals and one shorthanded tally. … UST's three game-winning goals have come from three different players—Larson, Ellie Tabaka, and Rachel Werdin. … Mackenzie Torpy has started 10 of the Tommies' 11 games in goal, compiling a 2.38 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage. … St. Thomas has scored 12 of its 25 goals in the second period. The Tommies have outscored their opponents 12-7 in that middle stanza. … Six of St. Thomas' 11 games have been decided by one goal or less—the Tommies are 1-3-2 in those six contests. … The Tommies have scored first in five of their 11 games, going 23-2-1. UST is 1-4-1 when its opponent scores the game's first goal. … St. Thomas has played two overtime games this season—with both ending in ties. UST battled Gustavus to a 2-2 stalemate on Nov. 11, while playing Bethel to a 4-4 deadlock on Nov. 19.