MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Augsburg on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to Ed Saugestad Rink for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Auggies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1-0 MIAC, 3-1-0 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (2-0-0 MIAC, 3-1-0 Overall)
 
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• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 10-11, 2017 * Mendota Heights, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals earned a split in their MIAC series against eighth-ranked St. Thomas—with both teams winning on their home ice. UST erupted for three, third-period goals en route to a 5-0 victory at the St. Thomas Ice Arena last Friday, while the Cardinals answered, scoring three unanswered goals in the game's final 20 minutes of a 3-1 win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | UST Recap 1 * UST Recap 2
• Augsburg—November 10-11, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Auggies opened conference play with a pair of one-goal wins over Bethel last weekend. Jeanette Bealke scored in the third period to lift the Auggies to a 2-1 win at Ed Saugestad Rink last Friday, while the Auggies scored a pair of third-period goals to rally from a 2-1 deficit to beat BU 3-2 at Schwan's Super Rink the following day | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• January 27, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's held high-powered Augsburg off the scoreboard for the first 26 minutes of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it only took Augsburg 27 seconds after its first goal to net goal No. 2, and the league-leading and nationally ranked Auggies never looked back in dealing Saint Mary's a 5-1 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 28, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: A day after surrendering five goals to conference-leading and 10^th-ranked Augsburg in a 5-1 loss, Saint Mary's got down-right defensive in the team's rematch. Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) made 32 saves—including 15 in the second period alone—and limited the high-powered Auggies to a single, second-period goal. And while the sophomore goalie was doing her part on the defensive end, Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) was doing her part on the offensive end, breaking a 1-1 tie with her fifth goal of the season four minutes into the third period, as the Cardinals avenged Friday's 5-1 loss with a 2-1 victory over the Auggies at Ed Saugestad Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Auggies head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Opening faceoff is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• With their 3-1 win over eighth-ranked St. Thomas last Saturday, the Cardinals have now opened the season having won three of their first four. … Last Friday's 5-0 loss to St. Thomas snapped the Cardinals' season-opening two-game winning streak. … After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), the Cardinals are now 3-0-0 on their home ice this season. … Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) scored a pair of goals and Mady Bodick (Savage, Minn.) accounted for the other in last Saturday's 3-1 win over St. Thomas. … Abraham's two-goal effort was the second multiple-goal game of her collegiate career. … Bodick, whose third-period goal was the first of her collegiate career, also had an assist in last Saturday's win over St. Thomas for her first collegiate multiple-point game. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick—scoring the Cardinals' first three goals in their 5-3 win over Marian on Oct. 27. The Cardinal junior followed that up with a pair of goals in Saint Mary's 3-1 victory over St. Norbert the following day. … Wendt's hat trick was Saint Mary's first since Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) scored three times against Hamline on Feb. 20, 2017. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) assisted on two of the Cardinals' five goals against Marian on Oct. 28, earning the freshman her first collegiate multiple-point game. … Wendt heads into this weekend's MIAC showdown against Augsburg as the team-leader in goals (5) and points (6). … Bodick is the team's assist leader with three—one more than Moser, Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.), and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.). … Wendt's goal at 19:41 of the first period against Marian on Oct. 27 was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.)—who picked up the win against St. Norbert in her first collegiate start on Oct. 28, stopping 28 of the Green Knights' 29 shots—made a career-high 37 saves in last Friday's 5-0 loss to St. Thomas, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) finished with a season-high 28 saves in last Saturday's 3-1 win over the Tommies. … Corcoran—who recorded a career-high 56 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to Gustavus on Feb. 3, 2017—owns a 2.00 goals-against-average and an .897 save percentage, with Ziakas chipping in a 3.00 GAA and .915 save percentage. … The Cardinals have netted seven of their 11 goals in the third period. … With their wins over Marian and St. Norbert in their first two games of the season, the Cardinals opened their season 2-0-0 for the second straight year—having also opened the 2016-17 season with back-to-back wins over Marian and St. Norbert. … With their win over Marian on Oct. 27, the Cardinals have now won their last three season-openers—including back-to-back victories over the Sabres each of their last two seasons.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Augsburg enters this weekend's conference games against Saint Mary's riding a season-high three-game winning streak. … Three of Augsburg's first four games this season have been decided by one goal—the Auggies dropped a season-opening 3-2 decision to St. Scholastica on Oct. 27, while beating Bethel 2-1 and 3-2 last weekend. … Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth home game of the season for the Auggies, who have played just once away from Ed Saugestad Rink. … Megan Johnson and Jeanette Bealke scored Augsburg's two goals in last Friday's 2-1 win over Bethel, while Emily Ach scored twice and Bridget Walter netted the other in Augsburg's 3-2 victory the following day. … Bealke's goal against Bethel last Friday was not only the game-winner, but also her first collegiate goal. … Bridget Wagner is the Auggies' leader in all three offensive categories—goals (3), assists (3), and points (6). … Ach and Megan Robertson are second to Wagner with two goals each, while Megan Johnson, Valerie Whichello, Nikki Nightengale, McKenna Ellena, and Lanie Lobdell are all second to Wagner with two assists each. … Augsburg's three game-winning goals have come from three different players—Wagner, Ach, and Bealke. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 13-7 through the first four games this season—with 15 different players recording at least one point.  … Nine different Auggies have scored goals on the year. … McKenna Manalli has started three of the team's four games in goal, compiling a 1.28 goals-against-average and .918 save percentage. … Manalli has stopped 45 of the 49 shots she's faced this season. … Rebecca Sonnek has started the Auggies' other game, stopping 18 of 21 shots in Augsburg's 3-2 season0opening loss to St. Scholastica. … Seven of the Auggies' 13 goals this season have come in the first period. … The Auggies are unbeaten (2-0-0) when scoring first, while going 1-1-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.