By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out the 2017 portion of its schedule on Wednesday, as the Cardinals entertain Lawrence in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-8-1 Overall) vs. Lawrence Vikings (4-6-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 1-2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both of their MIAC games against Saint John's last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, falling to the Johnnies 7-0 last Friday, before dropping a 4-1 decision the following afternoon | SJU Recap 1 * SJU Recap 2
• Lawrence—December 1-2, 2017 * Appleton, Wis.: The Vikings split their NCHA games last weekend, falling to St. Norbert 3-2, before erupting for nine goals in a 9-2 rout of Finlandia the following day | SNC Recap * FU Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Lawrence—Their Last Meeting:
• December 10, 2013 * Appleton, Wis.: Special teams were extra-special, as Saint Mary's and Lawrence combined for six power-play goals in their nonconference game at the Appleton Family Ice Center. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Vikings who accounted for four of those six goals with the man advantage | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Jan. 5, when they travel to Wessman Arena in Superior, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Superior.
• Lawrence: The Vikings are back in action this weekend, traveling to Hunt Arena in River Falls, Wis., for a pair of 7:05 p.m. nonconference games against UW-River Falls.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Wednesday's game against Lawrence is the fifth straight home game for the Cardinals, who have played eight of their first 12 games this season on their home ice. Saint Mary's will open the 2018 portion of its schedule with five consecutive road games—the Cardinals' first home game in 2018 will be Jan. 27 against Gustavus. … With their 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25, Saint Mary's snapped its season-high five-game losing streak. … Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against the Johnnies last weekend. Seper's second-period goal in last Saturday's 4-1 loss was the first of his collegiate career. … Seper is the third player to net his first goal as a Cardinal this season, joining Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Ben Owen (Allen, Texas). Stang's came against St. Thomas on Nov. 3, while Owen's was against Bethel on Oct. 29. … Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) picked up a pair of multiple-point games against Lake Forest on Nov. 24-25, scoring twice in Saint Mary's 6-3 loss on Nov. 24 and adding a goal and an assist in the Cardinals' 4-2 win the following night in the teams' rematch. … Johnson has scored in three of Saint Mary's last five games and owns four of Saint Mary's last nine goals. … Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) collected assists on all three of the Cardinals' goals against Lake Forest on Nov. 24. 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 recorded their first collegiate multiple-point games against Lake Forest on Nov. 25—Owen added two assists to his second-period goal, while Arnold notched 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 delivered a pair of assists against the Blugolds on Nov. 11 en route to his first collegiate four-point game. … Johnson and Stang share the team lead in goals with four, while Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) is the team-leader in assists with five. … Johnson and Heinle each boast a team-best eight points. … 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. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) notched his first career win—in his first collegiate start—stopping 37 of the 39 shots in faced in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25. … 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. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) has started eight of the team's nine games in goal, compiling a 3.33 goals-against-average and .874 save percentage, while Nast boasts a 4.73 GAA and .860 save percentage, and Rogers owns a 3.25 GAA and .914 save percentage. … Davis earned 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 24 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 13-2 in the first period and 15-10 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 2-1-0 when scoring first, while going 1-7-1 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 12-1-1 in the last 14 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less.
 
Scouting The Lawrence Vikings:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of seven straight road games for the Vikings, who do not play on their home ice until Jan. 19, when they entertain Aurora. … Last Saturday's 9-2 win over Finlandia snapped the Vikings' two-game losing streak. … Lawrence has scored two goals or less in five of its six losses. On the flip side, the Vikings have netted six or more goals in three of their four wins—scoring six times in beating both Trine (6-2) and Middlebury (6-3), and tallying a season-high nine in last Saturday's 9-2 win over Finlandia. … Josh Koepplinger recorded his first collegiate hat trick and Austin Frank and Zach Satalino each had three assists to lead the way for the Vikings in their 9-2 rout of Finlandia last Saturday. … Lawrence's nine goals against Finlandia last Saturday were the most since scoring 10 in a 10-1 victory over Northland on Nov. 9, 2012. … With his hat trick against Finlandia last Saturday, Koepplinger moved into the team lead with seven goals, one more than Lane King and two in front of Nick Felan. … Frank is the team-leader in assists with 10, while King and Felan each own nine helpers. … King's 15 points lead four Viking players with 10 or more points—Felan (14), Koepplinger (14), and Frank (11) are the others. … Lawrence has netted 14 power-play goals this season, led by King with four and Koepplinger with three. … Felan has netted two of the Vikings' four game-winning goals. … Evan Cline and Greg Procopio have shared the team's goaltending duties, with Cline compiling a 3.27 goals-against-average and .898 save percentage in nine starts, while Procopio owns a 4.47 GAA and .839 save percentage in three appearances, including one start. … Cline has stopped a team-high 228 shots. … Cline was in goal for the Vikings' lone shutout this season, stopping all 21 shots in Lawrence's 3-0 win over Aurora on Nov. 10. … Lawrence has outscored its opponents 17-8 in the third period. On the flip side, the Vikings have been outscored 13-7 in the first period and 14-11 in the second. … The Vikings are 3-1-0 when scoring the game's first goal, while going 1-5-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.