MENOMONIE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Dunn County Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against UW-Stout.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (9-5-2 Overall) at UW-Stout Blue Devils (7-8-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 13, 2017 * Stevens Point, Wis.: Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) each scored two goals, as the Cardinals knocked off third-ranked and defending national champion UW-Stevens Point 4-2 at K.B. Willett Arena | Recap
• UW-Stout—January 13, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: St. Thomas scored single goals in all three periods in handing the Blue Devils a 3-1 nonconference setback at St. Thomas Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stout—A Year Ago:
• January 15, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored with less than one second remaining in the first period, but surrendered goals in the first 26 seconds and the last 14 seconds of the second period—not to mention two empty-net goals in the final 38 seconds of regulation—as UW-Stout handed the Cardinals a 6-3 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend with a pair of games against Hamline. Saint Mary's will host the Pipers in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before the two teams head to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
• UW-Stout: The Blue Devils are back in action next Friday, entraining Concordia (Wis.) in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Dunn County Arena in Menomonie, Wis., before heading to the St. Thomas Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against St. Thomas the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Starting with Friday's contest at UW-Stevens Point, the Cardinals play seven of their last 10 regular-season games on the road. … Friday's game against No. 3 UW-Stevens Point marked the Cardinals' third straight game against a nationally ranked team—Saint Mary's split with No. 15 St. Thomas last weekend, falling 6-5 in overtime and winning 2-1. … With Friday's win over the Pointers, Saint Mary's has now won two straight and four of its last five. … Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) each scored twice to account for the Cardinals' four goals against UW-Stevens Point Friday. … Saint Mary's now boasts six players who have recorded multiple-goal games this season—led by Cesarz and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.), who has achieved the feat twice. Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.), are the other three. … Cesarz, Albergo and Heinle own five career-multiple-goal games, while Kinne has four. Walz's two-goal effort against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 was the first multiple-goal game of his career. … Kinne heads into Saturday's game against UW-Stout leading the team in goals (10) and points (17). … Kinne has scored a goal in four of the Cardinals' last five games—and in nine of the team's 16 contests. … Kinne had a hand in five of the Cardinals' seven goals against St. Thomas on Jan. 6-7. The senior scored twice­—including forcing overtime with 16 seconds remaining in regulation—and added an assist in the 6-5 OT loss on Jan. 6, before assisting on Saint Mary's first goal, and scoring the game-winner midway through the second period, in the 2-1 win a day later. … Kinne scored at least one goal in all three games against the Tommies, having also added the game-tying goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation in the teams' 3-3 tie at the MIAC Hockey Showcase. … Walz picked up his team-leading 10^th assist against UW-Stevens Point Friday. … Walz and Gruse are second to Kinne in points with 13 each. … Walz picked up assists on three of the Cardinals' five goals in their 5-0 Dec. 11 win over Aurora—it was his first career three-assist game. … Walz became the third Cardinal to record a three-assist game this season, joining Albergo and Gruse, who each picked up assists on three of Saint Mary's five goals vs. UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. It was the fourth time in his collegiate career Gruse has had a three-assist night, while Albergo's was his first. … Saint Mary's 54 goals have come from 15 different players—including collegiate firsts from Kamrass, Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Dylan Robertson (Darien, Ill.), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) and Joey Mavrin (Lockport, Ill.). … Nineteen different players have accounted for Saint Mary's 76 assists. … Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) scored on a first-period penalty shot against MSOE on Nov. 22—it was the Cardinals' first since Jesse Polk scored on a penalty shot during the 2007-08 season. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) finished with 38 saves—including 20 in the third period—in Friday's 4-2 win over UW-Stevens Point. … Heinle's 38 saves equaled his season high—the senior also stopped 38 shots against Bethel on Nov. 12. … Heinle made 25 saves against St. Olaf on Nov. 19 en route to his first shutout of the season—and fourth of his career. … 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. The Cardinal junior has won three of his five starts this season. … Davis heads into this weekend's nonconference games against UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout owning a team-best 2.59 goals-against-average and .900 save percentage, with Heinle close behind with a 2.76 GAA and .903 save percentage. … Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.)—making his first start of the season—stopped all 12 shots he face against Aurora on Dec. 11 in recording his first collegiate shutout. … With their 2-1 win over league-leading and 15^th-ranked St. Thomas on Jan. 7, the Cardinals have now had six of their last seven games against the Tommies decided by one goal or less, including all three this season—a 6-5 OT loss and 2-1 win last weekend, and a 3-3 tie at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase. … Saint Mary's 6-5 loss to St. Thomas Friday marked the fourth time this season the Cardinals have gone into overtime—having opened the year with a 3-3 tie against St. Thomas and a 3-2 OT loss to Concordia at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, before battling UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 deadlock on Nov. 4. … With their 6-5 loss against No. 15 St. Thomas on Jan. 6, Saint Mary's is now 0-3-4 in its last seven overtime games. The Cardinals' last OT win was a 4-3, double-overtime victory over Concordia in the 2015 MIAC Playoffs. … Eight of the Cardinals' 15 games this season have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 16 games this season—including eight of their nine wins. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 21-11 in the first period, and 14-13 in the third. … The Cardinals, who had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering on Nov. 22, snapped a season-high three-game losing streak with their 7-2 win over Aurora on Dec. 10. … Saint Mary's loss to Concordia on Dec. 2 snapped their conference-opening four-game winning streak. The Cardinals' four straight wins to open the conference was the first time since the 1997-98 season that Saint Mary's has opened MIAC play 4-0-0. … 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.
  
Scouting The UW-Stout Blue Devils:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• After three straight road games, Saturday's matchup with Saint Mary's is the first of back-to-back home games for the Blue Devils, who own a 4-2-0 record at Dunn County Arena. … Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the 11^th of 12 games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Blue Devils are 4-3-2 vs. the MIAC—having beaten St. Olaf (5-4 and 3-0), Hamline (2-1), and Gustavus (2-1), while falling to Bethel (6-2), Augsburg (4-1), Concordia (6-1), and St. Thomas. UW-Stout has also battled Gustavus to a 3-3 tie, and still has a rematch with St. Thomas on its schedule. … The Blue Devils' 3-1 loss to St. Thomas Friday evening snapped their two-game unbeaten streak (1-0-1). … UW-Stout heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's having gone 2-2-1 in its last five games. … Jack Forbort accounted for the Blue Devils' lone goal against St. Thomas Friday. … Riley Colvard enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with seven, while sharing the top spot in points (12) with Colton Brausen. … Justin Moody is the team's assist leader with eight, one more than Brausen, and is third on the team in points with 11. … Moody and Adam Kresl have each tallied a team-high two game-winning goals, while Kresl and Jordan Stejskal have scored the Blue Devils' two overtime tallies this season. … The Blue Devils have used three different goalies this season, led by Tommi Ahlgren, finished with 36 saves against St. Thomas Friday. … Ahlgren has appeared in 12 of the team's 16 games, compiling a 3.21 goals-against-average and .895 save percentage. Spencer Viele (2.75 GAA, .894 save percentage) has played in six games, while Etienne Roy (3.91 GAA, .848 save percentage) has made three appearances. … Roy made 18 saves in recording the Blue Devils' lone shutout this season, a 3-0 victory over St. Olaf on Dec. 10. … UW-Stout has scored a season-high five goals four times—beating Finlandia (5-1), St. Olaf (5-4), UW-Superior (5-3), and falling to Northland (6-5). On the flip side, UW-Stout surrendered a season-high seven goals in a 7-3 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 1. … UW-Stout has outscored its opponents 15-14 in the first period, but have been outscored 18-12 in the second and 22-17 in the third. … The Blue Devils' 3-3 tie against Gustavus on Jan. 7 was their third overtime game of the season—having also beaten St. Olaf (5-4) and Hamline (2-1). … UW-Stout has scored first in nine of its 16 games this season, going 5-3-1. The Blue Devils are 2-4-0 when their opponent scores first.