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 conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain UW-Stevens Point in a 7 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-4-0 Overall) vs. UW-Stevens Point Pointers (3-4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—December 1-2, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: The Cardinals collected a key MIAC sweep of Saint Benedict last weekend at Dave Torrey Ice Arena, rolling to a 6-2 win over the Blazers on Friday, before getting the overtime game-winner from Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) with 12 seconds remaining to lift Saint Mary's to a 2-1 win in the teams' rematch the following day | CSB Recap 1 * CSB Recap 2
• UW-Stevens Point—November 21, 2017 * Stevens Point, Wis.: Maddie Monroe scored 2:04 into overtime to lift the Pointers to a 2-1 win over Marian at Ice Hawks Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stevens Point—A Year Ago:
• December 10, 2016 * Stevens Point, Wis.: The Cardinals erupted for three goals—including two in the third period—as Saint Mary's snapped a season-high five-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over UW-Stevens Point Saturday evening at Ice Hawks Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until January 1, when they play host to Williams College in a 5 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
• UW-Stevens Point: The Pointers are right back in action on Saturday, traveling to Augsburg's Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against the Auggies.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against UW-Stevens Point is the sixth home game of the season for the Cardinals. After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), Three of the Cardinals' five wins this season have come at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Last Saturday's 2-1 win over Saint Benedict was the first overtime game of the season for the Cardinals, who went 1-1-3 in their five overtime games a year ago. … The Cardinals erupted for a season-high six goals in their 6-2 win over Saint Benedict last Friday night. … Saint Mary's six goals vs. the Blazers were the most since the Cardinals scored six times in beating St. Olaf 6-3 on Nov. 17, 2016. … The Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak with last Friday's win over Saint Benedict, scored more goals against the Blazers last Friday (6) than they had in the previous five games combined (5). … The Cardinals have scored 19 goals in their five wins this season, while managing just a combined two goals in their four losses. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored twice against Saint Benedict last Friday, while Hailey Nadeau (Cottage Grove, Minn.), Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill.), Lauren Rogers (Barrington, Ill.), and Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored the others. … Hafiz accounted for both of the Cardinals' goals in last Saturday's 2-1 win in their rematch with the Blazers—including the OT game-winner with 12 seconds remaining. … The goals by Nadeau and Rogers last Friday were the first of their collegiate careers, while Cwik's two-goal game was her first in a Cardinal uniform. Hafiz, meanwhile, has now notched three two-goal games in her two-year collegiate career—including a pair against Saint Benedict. … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) assisted on three of the Cardinals' six goals vs. CSB last Friday en route to her first collegiate three-point game, while Rogers added two assists to her second-period goal for her first three-point game in a Cardinal uniform. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.), who scored her team-leading sixth goal against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 25, has 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 Friday's nonconference game against UW-Stevens Point as the team-leader in goals (6) and points (10). … Ryan and Moser share the team lead in assists with five, one more than Wendt. … Hafiz, Cwik, Ryan, and Moser are all second to Wendt in points with five each. … Wendt's goal at 19:41 of the first period against Marian on Oct. 27 was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) made 20 saves against Saint Benedict last Friday, with Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) stopping 31 of the 32 shots she faced in last Saturday's rematch. … Ziakas—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 2.67 GAA and .914 save percentage in her three starts this season. … Corcoran, who  made a season-high 36 saves in the Cardinals' 3-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 25—and has made 30 or more saves three times this season—boasts a 2.16 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage. … The Cardinals have netted nine of their 21 goals in the third period. … The Cardinals are 3-1-0 when scoring first, while going 2-3-0 when they opponent nets the game's first goal. … 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. … 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-Stevens Point Pointers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of five straight road games for the Pointers, who are still searching for their first win away from Ice Hawks Arena this season (0-3-0). … UW-SP's game against Saint Mary's is the fifth of nine games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Pointers have already faced St. Olaf (L, 0-1; T, 4-4) and St. Thomas (L, 2-1; L, 4-2) and still have Augsburg, Saint Benedict, Hamline, and St. Catherine on their schedule. … With their 2-1 win over Marian on Nov. 21, the Pointers head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena riding a two-game winning streak. … All three of UW-Stevens Point's wins this season have been 2-1 decisions—beating St. Norbert, UW-Superior, and Marian. … Six of the Pointers' eight games this season have been decided by one goal. … Cara Lemirande and Maddie Monroe scored the Pointers' two goals in their 2-1 win over Marian on Nov. 21. … Ellie Punnett leads the Pointers in goals with three, one more than Ali BIagini, while Biagini is the team-leader in both assists (5) and points (7). … Punnett (3) and Biagini (2) are the only Pointers to have scored more than one goal this season. … Punnett owns two of UW-Stevens Point's three game-winning goals, while Biagini has netted two of the team's four power-play tallies. … Sydney Conley has started five of the team's eight games in goal, compiling a 2.83 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage. … Lisa Fowle has made two starts (0.98 GAA, .931 save percentage) and Marit Larson has made the other start in goal (3.69 GAA, .846 save percentage). … Conley has stopped a team-high 146 shots. … UW-Stevens Point has scored 11 of its 14 goals in the second period. UW-SP has been outscored 5-0 in the first period and 5-2 in the third. … The Pointers are unbeaten (2-0-0) when scoring first, while going 1-4-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal.