WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against third-ranked Augsburg on Friday, hosting the Auggies in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0-1 MIAC, 2-3-1 Overall) vs. #3 Augsburg Auggies (2-0-0 MIAC, 6-0-0 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 10-11, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both of their nonconference games last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, falling to fifth-ranked UW-Stevens Point 7-2 on Friday, while dropping a 5-4 decision against 11^th-ranked UW-Eau Claire the following day | UWSP Recap * UWEC Recap
• Augsburg—November 10-11, 2017 * Blaine, Minn./Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies remained unbeaten with a pair of convincing wins over Bethel in their MIAC opener. Augsburg cruised to a 7-4 win over the Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink last Friday, while adding a 6-1 victory in the teams' rematch at Ed Saugestad Arena the following night | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
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:
• The Cardinals and Auggies conclude their two-game MIAC series on Saturday, heading to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for the 7:05 p.m. conference rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against Augsburg is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who play six of their next seven games 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. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Kyle Meeh (St. Louis, Mo.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in last Friday's 7-2 loss to No. 5 UW-Stevens Point, while 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 the following day. … Cesarz's two-goal effort against UW-Eau Claire last Saturday was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings. … Along with his two goals, Jack Stang also picked up a pair of assists against the Blugolds last Saturday en route to his first collegiate multiple-goal and multiple-point game. … Jack Stang leads the team in goals (5) and points (6). … Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) is 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.)—who stopped 101 of the 105 shots he faced in the Cardinals' first four games—surrendered four goals against UW-Stevens Point last Friday. … Davis started the Cardinals' first five games in goal, compiling a 1.78 goals-against-average and .934 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 eight of its 14 goals in the third period, where the Cardinals hold an 8-5 score edge. Saint Mary's has been outscored 6-1 in the first period, with the Cardinals and their opponents both scoring five second-period goals. … Saint Mary's is unbeaten (2-0-0) when scoring first, while going 0-3-1 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. 3 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … The Auggies head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena Friday riding a season-opening six-game winning streak. Augsburg has outscored its opponents 29-11 through six 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). … Fifteen of the 18 Auggies who dressed against Bethel last Friday recorded at least one point—led by Nate Flynn, who scored once and assisted on two others. … Eric Brenk led the way for the Auggie offense in their 6-1 win over BU last Saturday, finishing with two goals and an assist. … Brenk's two-goal effort last Saturday marked just the second time this season Augsburg has had a player score two or more goals in a game this season. … The Auggies have an MIAC statistical leader in all three offensive categories—Brenk in goals (5), Drew Anderson in assists (7), and Luke Dietsch in points (9). … Dietsch has netted a pair of game-winning goals, with Flynn, Anderson, Brenk, and Gunnar Goodmanson scoring the other four. … Augsburg boasts six players with seven or more points through six games. …  Twenty-one of the Auggies' 22 players who have seen game action have recorded either a goal or an assist this season—with 17 different players scoring goals. … Nick Schmit has started all six games in goal for the Auggies, compiling a 1.81 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage. … Schmit has stopped 127 of the 138 shots he's faced. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 9-2 in the first period and 10-3 in the third, while holding a 9-6 advantage in the middle period. … The Auggies have scored first in four of their six games. … Friday's game at Saint Mary's is 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.