By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team concludes its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Augsburg on Saturday, traveling to Ed Saugestad Rink for the 7:05 p.m. conference rematch.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-1-1 MIAC, 2-4-1 Overall) at #3 Augsburg Auggies (3-0-0 MIAC, 7-0-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• November 17, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Third-ranked Augsburg erupted for three first-period goals and never looked back in dealing the Cardinals a 5-1 MIAC setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg—A Year Ago:
• January 27, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Saint Mary's found itself playing catch-up through the first 40 minutes of its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against league-leading Augsburg. Down 2-0 early, the Cardinals netted back-to-back goals to head into the locker room tied 2-2 after the first period. Down 3-2 six minutes into the second period, the Cardinals once again "caught up," scoring six minutes later to once again head into the locker room tied—this time 3-3 after two. Unfortunately, the Cardinals fell behind again in the third, but were not able to net the equalizer, as the 11^th-ranked Auggies handed Saint Mary's a 4-3 setback at Ed Saugestad Rink | Recap
• January 28, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: For two periods, the rematch between Saint Mary's and Augsburg at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena proved to be a rather defensive battle—with the Auggies clinging to a 2-1 lead heading into the third period. And what a third period it proved to be. The two teams combined for five goals in the first six minutes—and seven goals overall in the game's final 20-minutes. When the dust finally cleared, the two teams settled for a wild, 5-5 overtime tie—with Saint Mary's gaining the extra conference point, thanks to a pair of goals in the four-round shootout | Recap
• February 25, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Two years ago, Saint Mary's squared off against Concordia in the semifinals of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs—and the Cardinals needed double-overtime to dispatch of the Cobbers. Saturday evening, the Cardinals were back in the conference playoff semifinals, squaring off against Augsburg—with a berth to the MIAC Playoff Championship game awaiting the victor. And once again 60 minutes of regulation was not enough to crown a winner. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Auggies who came out on top, getting a goal from Nate Flynn 1:56 into the extra period to lift Augsburg to the 5-4 victory | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play next weekend, entertaining Lake Forest in a pair of nonconference games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Cardinals and Foresters will play at 7 p.m. on Friday and at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.
• Augsburg: The Auggies are now off until Dec. 1-2, when they square off against St. Thomas in a pair of MIAC contests. Augsburg will host UST in a 7 p.m. game at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., on Friday, before heading to St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for the 7 p.m. rematch the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Augsburg is the last road game of the first semester for the Cardinals, who will play their final five contests on their home ice. … This weekend's two contests against third-ranked Augsburg are the third and fourth straight games against nationally ranked opponents for the Cardinals, who faced No. 5 UW-Stevens Point and No. 11 UW-Eau Claire last weekend. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal in Friday's 5-1 loss to the Auggies. Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) picked up the lone assist. …
 
Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) each scored twice in Saint Mary's 5-4 loss to No. 11 UW-Eau Claire last Saturday. Cesarz's two-goal effort against UW-Eau Claire was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings—while Stang's was the first of his collegiate career. … Jack Stang also picked up a pair of assists against the Blugolds last Saturday en route to his first collegiate four-point game. … Heinle and Jack Stang share the team lead in points with six, while Stang owns a team-high five goals. … Heinle is also second in goals (4), while Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio) owns a team-high four assists. … Heinle and Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) have accounted for the Cardinals' two game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored three power play goals—two from Cesarz and one by Owen. …  The Cardinals boast two players—Jack Stang and Owen—who have scored their first collegiate goals this season. Stang's came against St. Thomas on Nov. 3, while Owen's was against Bethel on Oct. 29. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made his first collegiate start in goal in last Saturday's 5-4 loss to UW-Eau Claire. The freshman finished with 41 saves against the Blugolds. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) has started six of the team's seven games in goal, compiling a 2.36 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage. … Davis picked up his first collegiate shutout, making 31 saves in a 2-0 win over Gustavus on Feb. 4, 2017, while stopping 28 shots en route to his first win as a Cardinal on Nov. 5, 2016. … Saint Mary's scored more empty net goals against St. Thomas on Nov. 3 (2) than the Cardinals netted all of last season (1). … Jack Stang's goal at 7:18 of the first period against UW-Eau Claire last Saturday was the Cardinals' first, first-period goal of the season. … Saint Mary's has scored nine of its 15 goals in the third period, where the Cardinals hold an 9-6 score edge. Saint Mary's has been outscored 9-1 in the first period and 6-5 in the second. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (2-0-0) when scoring first, while going 0-4-1 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal. … Saint Mary's 1-1 tie with St. Thomas on Nov. 4 was its first overtime game of the season. The Cardinals played eight OT games a year ago, going 1-4-3. … The Cardinals held each of their first four opponents to just one goal. … The Cardinals are 11-1-1 in the last 13 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less. … With their win and tie vs. St. Thomas, the Cardinals are now 3-3-3 in their last nine meetings with the Tommies. … The Cardinals made their second MIAC Playoff appearance in the last three seasons a year ago, falling to eventual playoff champion Augsburg 5-4 in overtime in the semifinals. Saint Mary's reached the MIAC Playoff championship game in 2015, falling to Hamline 4-2.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Augsburg enters this weekend's two-game conference series against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … The Auggies return home to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday riding a season-opening seven-game winning streak. Augsburg has outscored its opponents 34-12 through seven games. … Augsburg is one of just three NCAA Division III teams that are unbeaten and untied through the first three weekends of the season—and the lone team with six wins. St. Norbert is 4-0-0, and Worcester State (Mass.) is 5-0-0. Stevenson (Md.) is also unbeaten, but has one tie (4-0-1). … John O'Connor had two goals and two assists in the Auggies' 5-1 win over Saint Mary's Friday, while Jake Larson, Will Peterson, and Nate Flynn netted Augsburg's other three goals. … Luke Dietsch had a pair of assists vs. Saint Mary's, and he and O'Connor were two of four Auggies with at least two points. … Augsburg has now had a multiple-goal scorer in each of its last two games—Eric Brenk scored twice against Bethel last Saturday. … The Auggies have an MIAC statistical leader in all three offensive categories—Brenk in goals (5), Drew Anderson in assists (7), and Dietsch in points (11). … Dietsch has netted a pair of game-winning goals, with Flynn, Anderson, Brenk, Will Peterson, and Gunnar Goodmanson scoring the other four. … Augsburg boasts five players with eight or more points through seven games. … All 22 Auggie players who have seen game action have recorded either a goal or an assist this season—with 18 different players scoring goals. … Nick Schmit has started all seven games in goal for the Auggies, compiling a 1.70 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage. … Schmit—who made 23 saves vs. Saint Mary's on Friday—has stopped 150 of the 162 shots he's faced. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 12-2 in the first period and 11-4 in the third, while holding a 10-6 advantage in the middle period. … The Auggies have scored first in five of their seven games. … Friday's game at Saint Mary's was the sixth road game of the season for the Auggies, who have played just one game at Ed Saugestad Arena—last Saturday's 6-1 win over Bethel. … Fifteen of the 18 Auggies who dressed against Bethel on Nov. 10 recorded at least one point.