By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Saint Benedict on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to Dave Torrey Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Blazers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-3-0 MIAC * 3-4-0 Overall) at Saint Benedict Blazers (0-3-1 MIAC * 0-5-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 25, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals gave up goals in the first two minutes of both the first and second periods and never recovered in falling to UW-Eau Claire 3-1 in a nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Saint Benedict—November 17-18, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn./Northfield, Minn.: The Blazers rebounded from a 2-1 loss in the opening game of their two-game MIAC series against St. Olaf at Dave Torrey Arena, gaining a 3-3 overtime tie in the rematch at the Northfield Ice Arena | St. Olaf Recap 1 * St. Olaf Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• February 10, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: After failing to score in either of their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games against Gustavus last weekend, the Cardinals erupted for three goals in the game's first 12 minutes in their conference showdown with Saint Benedict at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Blazers, however, scored the next three goals—including the game-tying tally 1:31 into the third period—to force overtime. Fortunately for Saint Mary's, the vaunted first-period offense reappeared in overtime, as Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) unloaded a blistering slap shot from the point that beat CSB goalie Julia Carle just 47 seconds into the extra period—and lifted the Cardinals to the 4-3 victory | Recap
• February 11, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's had so much fun playing an overtime period in Friday's 4-3 victory over Saint Benedict, the Cardinals decided to put in a little OT again in the teams' rematch. This time, however, the Cardinals would have to settle for a tie, as Saint Mary's and Saint Benedict battled to a 2-2 deadlock at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Blazers are back on the Dave Torrey Arena ice on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), all three of the Cardinals' wins this season have come at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Saint Mary's has played just two of its first seven games on the road—falling to St. Thomas and Augsburg. … The winner in five of the Cardinals' first seven games has scored three goals, including each of Saint Mary's last four contests—a 3-1 win over St. Thomas, 3-1 and 3-0 losses to Augsburg, and a 3-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire. The winner scored five goals in Saint Mary's other two games—a 5-2 win over Marian and a 5-0 loss to St. Thomas. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored her team-leading sixth goal to account for the Cardinals' lone tally in their 3-1 nonconference loss to UW-Eau Claire last Saturday. … Wendt has now scored more goals this season (6) than she had in her first two collegiate seasons combined (5). … Wendt 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. … 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. … 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 games at Saint Benedict as the team-leader in goals (6) and points (7). … Bodick and Moser share the team lead in assists with three each—one more than Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.), Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), and Mandy Sailor (Ramsey, Minn.). … 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.) made a season-high 36 saves in the Cardinals' 3-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire last Saturday. It was the second time this season the sophomore has made 30 or more saves in a game. … Corcoran heads into Friday's game against Saint Benedict boasting a 2.43 goals-against-average and a .914 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 eight of their 13 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 Saint Benedict Blazers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Blazers' 3-3 tie against St. Olaf on Nov. 18 snapped their season-opening five-game losing streak. … Saint Benedict scored more goals in its two-game MIAC series against St. Olaf on Nov. 17-18 (4) than the Blazers had in their first four games combined (3). … After managing just one goal in their first three games, CSB has netted six goals in its last three. … Jessica Malloy netted CSB's lone goal in the Blazers' 2-1 loss to St. Olaf on Nov. 17, while Mariah Reed, Shelby Schneider, and Maria Wallace accounted for CSB's three goals the following day. … Saint Benedict's seven goals this season have come from seven different players—Shelby Schneider, Reed, Wallace, Malloy, Kennedy Hageness, Brigette Miller, and Riley Schneider. … Saint Benedict's eight assists have also come from eight different players—Riley Schneider, Hageness, Miller, Shelby Schneider, Alexis Klatt, Courtney Conlin, Kylie Eklund, and Kaitlyn Miller. … Riley Schneider, Shelby Schneider, Hageness, and Miller share the team lead in points with two each. … Julia Carle, who stopped 68 shots against St. Olaf—making 29 saves in the 201 loss on Nov. 17 and adding a 39-save effort in the 3-3 tie the next day—has started five of CSB's six games in goal, compiling a 4.86 goals-against-average and an .886 save percentage. … Kailee Medved owns CSB's other start in goal and owns a 3.79 GAA and .884 save percentage. … Carle has made 179 saves through six games this season. … The Blazers have converted on just 2 of 26 power-play opportunities, while their opponents have gone 7-for-25. … The Blazers have been outscored 28-7—9-2 in the first period, 10-4 in the second, and 9-1 in the third. … Saint Benedict has scored first just once this season. CSB is 0-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal, while going 0-4-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.