ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Hamline on the road on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Oscar Johnson Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-4-2 MIAC, 4-9-2 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (5-3-0 MIAC, 7-7-1 Overall)
 
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• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 13-14, 2017 * Winona, Minn./Mendota Heights, Minn.: The Cardinals took St. Thomas to a pair of overtime games last weekend, battling the Tommies to a 2-2 deadlock on Friday, while dropping a 3-2 decision when UST scored with 23 seconds remaining in OT a day later | UST Recap 1 * UST Recap 2
• Hamline—January 18, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: The Pipers exploded for three goals in a six-minute span in the second period, lifting Hamline to a 3-1 conference win over Saint Benedict| Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• January 22, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored as many goals in the first period as it did in all six periods combined against the Tommies the previous weekend—and the Cardinals never took their foot off the accelerator, scoring four times in handing the Pipers a 4-2 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 23, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: A day after erupting for four goals in a 4-2 win over the Pipers, the Cardinal offense returned to its January hibernation in the teams' rematch—managing just a third-period tally by Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.). And one goal would not be enough, as Brede Postier broke the 1-1 deadlock just 18 seconds into the overtime period, lifting Hamline to the  2-1 conference win at Oscar Johnson Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Pipers will conclude their two-game conference series on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. matchup.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Hamline is the fourth home game in Saint Mary's last five contests. The Cardinals are still searching for their first win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena this season (0-4-2). … With last weekend's two overtime games against St. Thomas, the Cardinals have now played six 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, a 4-3 loss against St. Olaf, and a 2-2 tie and 3-2 loss to St. Thomas. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to St. Thomas last Saturday marked the first time in three overtime contests that the game did not end in a tie. … Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored a goal in both games against St. Thomas last weekend, while Hannah Croonquist (St. Paul, Minn.) and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) accounted for the other two. … With her two goals vs. St. Thomas, Hannula moved into a tie for the team lead (6) with Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.). … Hafiz, who recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' first six games this season—including four multiple-point games—also leads the team in points with 10. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) picked up her team-leading fifth assist in last Friday's game against St. Thomas and is second to Hafiz with nine points. … 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. … Croonquist's first-period 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 Wendt, Hafiz, and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.). … Saint Mary's scored a pair of shorthanded goals against St. Olaf on Nov. 17—back-to-back tallies by Hannula and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) less than a minute apart midway through the second period. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) made a season-high 41 saves against St. Thomas last Friday. The 41-save effort was one shy of her career high. … Marah Shield (Mitford, Mich.) equaled that 41-save performance in the team's rematch with the Tommies last Saturday. … Corcoran has now stopped 30 or more shots in each of her last five starts, while Shields has made 30 or more saves in five of her seven starts this season. … Corcoran owns a team-leading 2.84 goals-against-average and an .911 save percentage, while Shields has a 4.28 GAA and an .886 save percentage. … Nine of the Cardinals' 30 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 14 in the third, while the Cardinals' opponents have netted 19 goals in the second and 24 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 seven of their 15 games—going 3-2-2. Saint Mary's is 1-7-0 when its opponent scores first. … 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 were 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 Hamline Pipers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• With their 3-1 over Saint Benedict Wednesday, the Pipers snapped their two-game losing streak—and their six-game winless streak (0-5-1). … Bre Simon, Brede Postier, and Emily Gunderson netted the Pipers' three goals in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Saint Benedict. … Hamline managed just one goal—a Zoey Lobejko first-period tally last Friday—in its two games against Concordia last weekend. On the flip side, Concordia scored three goals in both games—3-1 and 3-0 wins—against the Pipers. … Hamline has surrendered three or more goals in all seven of its losses this season—including a season-high six goals in a 6-2 loss to St. Thomas on Dec. 3. … Simon's goal against Saint Benedict Wednesday was her team-leading 10^th of the season. … Simon also shares the team lead in points (15) with Darby Dodds, while Sadie Baker is the team's assist leader with eight, two more than Dodds and three in front of Simon. … Dodds owns three of the Pipers' seven game-winning goals. … Hamline has scored just nine special-teams goals this season—six power-play tallies and three shorthanded goals. … HU has used four different goalies this season, with Annie Jueregens getting the majority of the work with 11 starts. Juergens owns a 2.66 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage, while stopping 337 of the 365 shots she's faced. … Juergens stopped all 38 shots she faced in posting her lone shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 12. … Jessica Cole, making her first start in goal, picked up the win in goal on Wednesday, stopping 12 of the Blazers' 13 shots. …  The Pipers have outscored their opponents 14-11 in the third period, but have been outscored 12-8 in the first period and 16-13 in the third. … Hamline has scored first in six of its 15 games, going 3-3-0. The Pipers are 4-4-1 when their opponent scores first. … Hamline has played three overtime games this—season—two against UW-Eau Claire. The Pipers beat UW-Eau Claire, 4-3, and lost to the Blugolds, 3-2, and tied UW-Stevens Point (4-4).