By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team steps out of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-Eau Claire in a 7 p.m. nonconference contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-3-0 Overall) vs. UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (4-2-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 17-18, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both games of their MIAC series against Augsburg, falling to the Auggies 3-1 at Ed Saugestad Rink on Friday, before dropping a 3-0 decision the following day at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
• UW-Eau Claire—November 21, 2017 * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Blugolds scored three of the game's final four goals in dealing visiting Concordia a 4-2 setback at Hobbs Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire—A Year Ago:
• November 26, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: UW-Eau Claire scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart midway through the second period, before adding a pair insurance goals in the final four minutes of the third in dealing Saint Mary's a 4-0 nonconference setback Saturday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• December 9, 2016 * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Blugolds scored a pair of first-period goals—two minutes apart—midway through the opening stanza, and UW-Eau Claire never looked back in dealing the Cardinals a 5-1 nonconference setback Friday evening at Hobbs Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud, Minn., for a pair of games against Saint Benedict. Saint Mary's and CSB will square off a 7 p.m. on Friday, before completing the two-game series with a 2 p.m. matinee the following afternoon.
• UW-Eau Claire: The Blugolds are now off until Dec. 5, when they head to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:15 p.m. nonconference game against Hamline.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire is the second 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 game against UW-Eau Claire 3-1-0 on their home ice this season. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against Augsburg last weekend. … Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) collected her second collegiate two-goal game in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over nationally ranked St. Thomas on Nov. 11. … Mady Bodick (Savage, Minn.), whose third-period goal against St. Thomas on Nov. 11 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 Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire 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 56 of the 61 shots she faced in two starts against Augsburg last weekend. … Corcoran heads into Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire boasting a 2.28 goals-against-average and a .910 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 UW-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fifth road game in the Blugolds' last six contests­—the lone exception, last Tuesday's 4-2 win over Concordia. … Saint Mary's is the sixth Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference team the Blugolds have faced this season, having already played Saint Benedict (6-0), Hamline (W, 3-0), Gustavus (T, 2-2), St. Olaf (W, 8-0), and Concordia (W, 4-2). … Last Tuesday's 4-2 win over Concordia snapped the Blugolds' two-game losing streak. … Jada Ward, Jaedyn Walz, Kelly Knetter, and Elizabeth Bauer accounted for UW-Eau Claire's four wins against Concordia last Tuesday. … Bauer enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's as the team-leader with 12 points. … Bauer also boasts a team-high eight assists and shares the team lead in goals (4) with Holly Turnbull. … UW-Eau Claire's five game-winning goals have come from five different players—Knetter, Mariah Czech, Abby Roeser, Courtney Wittig, and Reilly Albert. … Just five of the Blugolds' 26 goals have come on the power play. … UW-Eau Claire has used three different goalies this season, led by Erin Connolly, who has started five of the team's seven games, compiling a 1.49 goals-against-average and a .0931 save percentage. … Anna Beazey (1.52 GAA, .917 save percentage) has started UWEC's other two games, with Carlie Christensen making one relief appearance. … The Blugolds have outscored their opponents in all three periods—9-3 in the first, 10-5 in the second, and 7-3 in the third. … UW-Eau Claire has scored first in five of its seven games, going 3-1-1 in those five contests. … The Blugolds' eight goals in their 8-0 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 8 were a season-high. … Three of UW-Eau Claire's four wins this season have been shutouts. The Blugolds have outscored their opponents 21-2 in their four wins.