WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its 2017-18 season on Friday, as the Cardinals host Marian in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2016-17: 6-16-3 Overall) vs. Marian Sabres (2016-17: 10-16-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | /documents/2017/10/27//whmarian_web.pdf?id=4968GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Friday's game is the season-opener for both the Cardinals and the Sabres.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Marian—A Year Ago:
• October 28, 2016 * Fond du Lac, Wis.: Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored her first collegiate goal and assisted on another in helping the Cardinals to their first win of the 2016-17 campaign with a 4-3 nonconference triumph over Marian at the Blue Line Ice Center | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are right back on their home ice at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday, hosting St. Norbert is a 2 p.m. nonconference contest.
• Marian: The Sabres head to Augsburg's Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday for a 4 p.m. nonconference game against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2016-17 Final Statistics
• Two Cardinals—Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.)—earned MIAC post-season honors a year ago. Henderson was an honorable-mention All-MIAC selection, while Ryan was named to the MIAC's All-Rookie Team. … Five of the Cardinals' six wins last season came on the road. Saint Mary's beat Saint Benedict 4-3 in overtime on Feb. 10 for its only win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. All three of the Cardinals' ties came on their home ice, where Saint Mary's finished 1-8-3. … Five of the Cardinals' six wins were by two goals or less—the lone exception, a 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17. … With their overtime win and tie against Saint Benedict on Feb. 10-11, Saint Mary's finished 1-1-3 in its five overtime games last season. Along with their 4-3 win and 2-2 tie against Saint Benedict, the Cardinals dropped a 3-2 OT decision to St. Thomas on Jan. 14, while tying both St. Thomas and Bethel by identical 2-2 decisions. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17 were not only a season high, but also the highest single-game offensive output since scoring six against both Marian and Hamline during the 2009-2010 season. … Henderson closed out her junior year as the team-leader in all three offensive categories—goals (11), assists (6), and points (17). … Henderson's 11 goals marked the second straight season of 10 or more goals—she netted a career-high 13 goals in 2015-16. … Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) shared the team lead in assists, while Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) was second in goals (8), assists (5), and points (13). … Henderson owned a pair of multiple-goal games last season—recording her first collegiate hat trick against Hamline on Jan. 20, and scoring a pair of goals against St. Catherine on Feb. 17. … Henderson's hat trick marked the first time the Cardinals have had a player score three goals in a game since Mary DeBartolo did so against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, 2013. … Hafiz collected two-multiple-goal games during her freshman campaign last season, while also owning five multiple-point contests. … Hafiz recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' first six games a year ago. … Hafiz's goal at 9:50 of the opening period against Marian on Oct. 28 was her first collegiate goal—as well as the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Saint Mary's boasted four players who scored their first collegiate goals last season—Hafiz, Ryan, Hannah Croonquist (St. Paul, Minn.), and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). … Sixteen of the Cardinals' 50 goals came on special teams—12 power-play and four shorthanded. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) recorded a career-high 56 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to Gustavus on Feb. 3. … Corcoran, who led the team with a 3.01 goals-against-average and .901 save percentage, made 30 or more saves in seven of her 13 starts. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.), owner of a 3.88 GAA and .885 save percentage, also stopped 30-plus shots seven times last season—including a season-high 41-save effort against St. Thomas on Jan. 14. … Shields left Saint Mary's owning the single-game school record for saves, stopping 79 shots 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 Cardinals' previous record of 55, set by Nikki Jung against Gustavus on Jan. 21, 2005. … The Cardinals scored first in 12 of their 25 games a year ago—going 5-4-3. Saint Mary's was 1-12-0 when its opponent scored 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 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 Marian Sabres:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Sabres head into their season-opener against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 10-16-1 season a year ago. … Marian dropped its last three contests and five of their last six to close out the 2016-17 season. … Marian's 10 wins a year ago were a program high, while the Sabres also qualified for the NCHA Slaats Cup Playoffs for the first time in program history. … Lindsey Strainis had a big year in goal for the Sabres last season, earning NCHA Defensive Player of the Week honors four times. Strainis set program records for saves (681), wins (8), and shutouts (3) in a season a year ago, and currently ranks third in Marian history for save percentage in a season at .913. … Strainis closed out the year with a team-best 2.89 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage. … Ally Fox led the Sabres in scoring with 22 points—13 goals and nine assists—en route to being named to the NCHA All-Freshman Team. … Marian will be without the services of graduated seniors Emily Everson and Sarah Bier. Everson enjoyed a career year last season, scoring eight goals and adding nine assists for 17 points. Her nine assists were the third-most in a season in Marian history, tied with Fox and Rian Lennon, who also had nine assists in 2016-17. Bier closed out her illustrious career as a Sabre setting program records for games played (104) and assists (24), while also ranking second all-time in points (43), and third in goals (19). … With her team-high 22 points, Fox was one of five Sabres to record 10 or more points a year ago—Emily Everson (16), Hailey Miller (15), Lennon (13), and Bier (12) were the others. … Fox, Miller, and Hannah Koniar shared the team lead with two game-winning goals each. … As a team, the Sabres tied a program record for points in a season (60-75--135) and had the lowest goals against average in Marian women's hockey history (3.06). … Marian scored first in nine of its 12 wins last season. The Sabres were 1-13-1 when their opponent scored first.