By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Saint John's on Friday night, as the Cardinals host the Johnnies in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-2-1 MIAC, 3-6-1 Overall) vs. Saint John's Johnnies (2-2-0 MIAC, 6-2-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 24-25, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals battled Lake Forest to a split in the teams' two-game nonconference series at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Foresters took the first game, 6-3, while the Cardinals—behind two goals in the game's final two minutes—earned the split with a 4-2 win in the rematch | LF Recap 1 * LF Recap 2
• Saint John's—November 24-25, 2017 * Fond du Lac, Wis./Mequon, Wis.: The Johnnies played to a pair of overtime deadlocks in their two nonconference games over the Thanksgiving weekend, battling Marian to a 3-3 tie last Friday, before adding a 2-2 decision against Concordia (Wis.) the following day | Marian Recap * Concordia Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—Earlier This Year:
• October 28, 2017 * Blaine, Minn.: Saint John's goalie Mac Berglove stopped all 30 Cardinal shots he faced in leading SJU to a 1-0 victory over Saint Mary's in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—A Year Ago:
• February 10, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: The Cardinals' Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored 1:54 into overtime, lifting Saint Mary's to a 3-2 win over Saint John's—and into the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs | Recap
• February 11, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: When Saint Mary's and Saint John's squared off in the first game of their conference series, the Cardinals survived a late third-period goal by SJU's Huba Sekesi to beat the Johnnies in overtime, 4-3. Sekesi was at it again in the teams' rematch, scoring his second goal in as many nights—once again, late in the third period. Unfortunately for coach Bill Moore, this time around, the Cardinals could not recover from the Johnnie senior's late game goal, as Sekesi's third-period tally proved to be the game-winner, as SJU handed the Cardinals a 5-4 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Municipal Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Johnnies are back at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint John's is the third of five straight home games for the Cardinals, who are 2-4-0 on their home ice this season. … With their 4-2 win over Lake Forest last Saturday, Saint Mary's snapped its season-high five-game losing streak. … Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) scored two of Saint Mary's three goals against Lake Forest last Friday, with Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) accounted for the other. … Saint Mary's four goals in last Saturday's 4-2 win over the Foresters came from four different players—Johnson, Ben Owen (Allen, Texas), Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), and Michael Cimba (Willamette, Ill.).. … Johnson—who also had an assist in last Saturday's win over Lake Forest for his second consecutive multiple-point game—has now scored in three straight games and owns four of Saint Mary's last eight goals. … Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) picked up assists on all three of the Cardinals' goals against Lake Forest last Friday. It was the second time in his collegiate career that he has recorded three assists in a game. … Owen and Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska) each collected their first collegiate multiple-point games against Lake Forest last Saturday—Owen added two assists to his second-period goal, while Arnold collected a pair of assists. … Stang and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) each scored twice in Saint Mary's 5-4 loss to No. 11 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. 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. … Stang also picked up a pair of assists against the Blugolds on Nov. 11 en route to his first collegiate four-point game. … With his three goals last weekend, Johnson moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (4) with Stang and for the team lead in points (7) with Jay Heinle (York, Pa.). … Heinle, Robertson, and Walz are the team leaders with four assists each. … Stang's goal at 7:18 of the first period against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11 is the Cardinals' only first-period goal of the season. … Heinle, Stang, and Owen own the Cardinals' three game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored six power play goals—two from both Johnson and Cesarz, and one each from Owen and Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.). … Johnson scored the Cardinals' first shorthanded goal of the season in Saint Mary's 5-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 18. … The Cardinals boast two players—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. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) collected his first career win—in his first collegiate start—stopping 37 of the 39 shots in faced in last Saturday's 4-2 win over Lake Forest. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) stopped 29 shots in the Cardinals' 6-3 loss to Lake Forest last Friday. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made his first collegiate start in goal in the Cardinals' 5-4 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11, finishing with 41 saves. … Davis has started six of the team's nine games in goal, compiling a 2.77 goals-against-average and .899 save percentage, while Nast boasts a 5.06 GAA and .897 save percentage, and Rogers owns a 3.25 GAA and .914 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 has scored 12 of its 23 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 11-2 in the first period and 12-9 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 2-1-0 when scoring first, while going 1-5-1 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 now 12-1-1 in the last 14 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less. … 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 Saint John's Johnnies:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of four straight road games for the Johnnies, who have played seven of their first 10 contests away from home. … After opening the season with five straight wins, SJU is 1-2-2 in its last five contests. … Saint John's has scored 23 goals in its six wins, while managing just eight goals in its other four contests. … Robb Stautz scored a pair of goals against Marian last Friday and added one of SJU's two against Concordia (Wis.) the following day. Jake Dittel and Brady Heppner netted the Johnnies' other two goals on the weekend. … Heppner and Stautz enter this weekend's games against Saint Mary's sharing the team lead in goals with four each. … Heppner also leads the Johnnies in both assists (7) and points (11). … SJU's 32 goals have come from 18 different players, while 23 of the 24 Johnnies who have seen playing time have recorded at least one point. … Saint John's nine power play goals this season have been scored by nine different players. … SJU has yet to score a shorthanded tally this season. … Six different Johnnies—Ditel, Huba Sekesi, Kyle Wagner, Travis Brown, Tyler Dunagan, and Garrett Riebling—have accounted for SJU's six game-winning goals. … Mac Berglove and Andrew Lindgren have shared the goaltending duties this season—with both making five starts. Berglove owns a 1.78 goals-against-average and .943 save percentage with 149 saves, while Lindgren boasts a 1.98 GAA and .925 save percentage with 124 saves. … Berglove and Lindgren both own 3-1-1 records and Berglove was in goal for SJU's long shutout—a 1-0 win over Saint Mary's in the teams' meeting at the MIAC Hockey Showcase. … SJU has outscored its opponents 32-21, including 10-5 in the first period and 11-6 in the second … The Johnnies' have scored first in eight of their 10 games this season, going 5-2-1. Saint John's is unbeaten (1-0-1) when its opponent nets the game's first goal.