WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-3-0 MIAC, 9-6-2 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (4-3-1 MIAC, 7-6-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 13-14, 2017 * Stevens Point, Wis./Menomonie, Wis.: The Cardinals got two goals from both Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) in a 4-2 nonconference win over third-ranked and defending national champion UW-Stevens Point last Friday, while Gruse and Cesarz also scored in Saturday's showdown against UW-Stout, but it was not enough in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Blue Devils| UW-SP Recap * UW-S Recap
• Hamline—January 13-14, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn. | The Pipers picked up a tie and a win on the road against Concordia at the Moorhead Sports Center. Jake O'Borsky scored the Pipers' lone goal in a 1-1 tie with the Cobbers last Friday, while Justin Qvale made 26 saves and HU got scoring from four different players in a 4-2 victory a day later | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• January 22, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Brandon Zurn had two goals and Charlie Adams added a goal and two assists—in the first period—and the duo combined for four goals and six assists in leading the Pipers to a 6-5 overtime win over the Cardinals at Oscar Johnson Arena | Recap
• January 23, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals limited the high-scoring Pipers to just three goals—half of the six they tallied in HU's 6-5 overtime win a day earlier—and made the most of their own offensive opportunities en route to a 5-3 victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Pipers are back on the ice on Saturday, heading to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Hamline is one of just three remaining home games for the Cardinals, who play five of their final eight contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Last 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 last Friday's game against UW-Stevens Point, the Cardinals have faced a defending national champion three times in the last six seasons, going 2-1. Along with their 4-2 win over the Pointers—last season's national champs—the Cardinals beat national St. Norbert 3-2 during the 2011-12 season, while falling to the then-two-time defending national champion Green Knights 12-2 the following year. … Last Saturday's 6-5 overtime loss to UW-Stout snapped the Cardinals' two-game winning streak. Saint Mary's heads into this weekend's games against Hamline having gone 4-2 in its last six games. … Saint Mary's last two losses have both been 6-5 overtime decisions. … Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) each scored twice to account for the Cardinals' four goals against UW-Stevens Point last Friday, while the duo each netted their third goal of the weekend against UW-Stout a day later. … Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.), Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.), and Michael Cimba (Wilmette, Ill.) accounted for the other three goals against the Blue Devils last Saturday. … 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. … With his first-period assist on Kinne's goal against UW-Stout last Saturday, Gruse reached the 100 career-point milestone. Gruse added a third-period goal and heads into the Hamline series with 101 career points. … Kinne enters this weekend's showdown against Hamline leading the team in goals (11) and points (18). … Kinne has scored a goal in five of the Cardinals' last six games—and in 10 of the team's 17 contests this season. … 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. … Kelvin Walz pushed his team lead in assists to 11—one more than Gruse and Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.)—with helpers in both games last weekend. … Gruse is second to Kinne in points with 15—the pair are two of eight Cardinals who have recorded 10 or more points this season. Walz (14), Albergo (13), Cesarz (12), Jay Heinle (York, Pa. / 12), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis. / 11), and Taylor Portner (Andover, Minn. / 10) are the others. … Walz, who has recorded an assist in four of the team's last five games, 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 59 goals have come from 17 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.). … Twenty different players have accounted for Saint Mary's 86 assists. … Johnson 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 66 saves in the Cardinals two games last weekend: 38 saves—including 20 in the third period—in last Friday's 4-2 win over UW-Stevens Point, and 28 in last Saturday's 6-5 OT loss to UW-Stout. … Heinle's 38 saves against UW-Stevens Point last Friday 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 conference games against Hamline owning a team-best 2.59 goals-against-average and .900 save percentage, with Heinle close behind with a 3.03 GAA and .894 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 UW-Stout last Saturday marked the fifth time this season the Cardinals have gone into overtime this season—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 and falling to St. Thomas 6-5 on Jan. 6. … With their 6-5 loss to UW-Stout last Saturday, Saint Mary's is now 0-4-4 in its last eight 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 are 7-0-0 when holding their opponent to two goals or less, while going 2-6-2 when their opponent scores three or more goals. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 17 games this season—including eight of their nine wins. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 23-13 in the first period, while holding 19-17 and 17-15 scoring edges in the second and third periods, respectively. … 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 Hamline Pipers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game at Saint Mary's is the third straight road game for the Pipers, who are 4-2-3 away from Oscar Johnson Arena this season. … Last Friday's 1-1 tie against Concordia snapped the Pipers' five-game losing streak, while HU's 4-2 win a day later put an end to its six-game winless streak (0-5-1). … The Pipers have now played six overtime games this season—including three in their last five contests. HU is 1-2-3 in those six contests, with the lone win a 4-3 victory over UW-Superior on Nov. 22. … The Pipers' five goals against Concordia last weekend came from five different players. Jake O'Borsky scored Hamline's lone goal in the 1-1 tie, while Russ Jordan, Jaycob McCombs, Jesse Kessler, and Brandon Reinholz netted goals in the team's 4-2 win a day later. … With his goal against the Cobbers last Saturday, Jordan pushed his team-leading total to 12. Jordan also leads the team in points with 21, one more than Mitch Hall. … Hall is the team-leader in assists with 16, three more than both Brandon Wahlin and Mitch McPherson. … HU boasts five players with 10 or more points this season—Jordan (21), Hall (20), Wahlin (19), McPherson (16), and Jesse Kessler (13). … Seven of Jordan's team-high 12 goals have come on the power play. … Jordan also owns a team-best three game-winning goals. … Justin Qvale—who made 73 saves in the Pipers' two games against Concordia last weekend—enters this weekend's two-game series against Saint Mary's having started 12 of the team's 16 games, compiling a 2.74 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. … John Selle-Hanson has started HU's other five games in goal, posting a 2.99 GAA and a .904 save percentage. … Qvale stopped a career-high 47 shots in last Friday's 1-1 tie against Concordia. … Qvale has now made three starts against the Cobbers in Moorhead, Minn., stopping 103 of the 106 shots he's faced—including a 30-save shutout in the first round of the MIAC playoffs a year ago. … The Pipers have scored four or more goals in nine of their 16 games—including in all seven wins this season. … Hamline has outscored its opponents 12-6 in the first period and 20-16 in the third, but the Pipers have been outscored 23-20 in the game's middle period. … The Pipers have scored first in 10 of their 16 games, going 6-2-2. HU is 1-4-1 when its opponent scores first.