By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team closes out its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Augsburg on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain the Auggies in a 2 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2-0 MIAC, 3-2-0 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (3-0-0 MIAC, 4-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Night:
• November 17, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg scored three unanswered goals in the game's final 20 minutes, erasing a 1-0 Saint Mary's lead and handing the Cardinals a 3-1 conference setback at Ed Saugestad Rink | Recap
 
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 hers 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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of conference play next Saturday, entertaining UW-Eau Claire in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
• Augsburg: The Auggies step out of conference play on Tuesday, hosting UW-Superior in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Augsburg is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals. … After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), the Cardinals head into Saturday's rematch against Augsburg 3-0-0 on their home ice this season. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal—a first-period tally—against Augsburg Friday night. … Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) collected her second collegiate two-goal game last Saturday in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over nationally ranked St. Thomas. … Mady Bodick (Savage, Minn.), whose third-period goal against St. Thomas last Saturday was the first of her collegiate career, also had an assist 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. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing Minn.) kicked out 33 of the 35 shots she faced in Friday's 3-1 loss to Augsburg. … Corcoran heads into Saturday's rematch with the Auggies boasting a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage. … 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 the Cardinals' 5-0 loss to St. Thomas on Nov. 10. … Ziakas has compiled a 3.00 GAA and .915 save percentage in her two starts this season. … The Cardinals have netted seven of their 12 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. … The Cardinals' 5-0 loss to St. Thomas on Nov. 10 snapped their season-opening two-game winning streak. … 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
• With Friday's 3-1 win over Saint Mary's, Augsburg pushed its winning streak to four straight. … Three of Augsburg's first five 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 was the fourth home game of the season for the Auggies, who have played just once away from Ed Saugestad Rink. … Bridget Walter, Mikayla Jones, and Megan Johnson scored the Auggies' goals vs. Saint Mary's Frifday. … Walter has now scored in back-to-back games, while Johnson has a goal in two of the Cardinals' last three games. … Jeanette 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). … Johnson, Emily Ach and Megan Robertson are all second to Wagner with two goals each, while Valerie Whichello and Nikki Nightengale share the team lead in assists (3) with Walter. … Augsburg's four game-winning goals have come from three different players—Wagner, Ach, Bealke, and Mikayla Jones. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 16-8 through the first five games this season—with 15 different players recording at least one point.  … Nine different Auggies have scored goals on the year. … McKenna Manalli—who made 14 saves in Friday's 3-1 win over Saint Mary's—has started four of the team's five games in goal, compiling a 1.21 goals-against-average and .922 save percentage. … Manalli has stopped 59 of the 64 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 2-1-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.