ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey hits the road on Friday, as the Cardinals head to the Municipal Athletic Complex for a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint John's.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-5-1 MIAC, 12-8-3 Overall) at Saint John's Johnnies (5-5-2 MIAC, 10-8-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 3-4, 2017 * Winona, Minn./St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up a pair of key MIAC victories last weekend, getting goals from Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.), and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) in a 3-1 win last Friday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, while completing the sweep behind goals from Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.)—and 31 saves from Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.)—in a 2-0, sweep clinching victory a day later at Don Roberts Ice Rink | GAC Recap 1 * GAC Recap 2
• Saint John's—January 27-28, 2017 * Mendota Heights, Minn./St. Cloud, Minn.: The Johnnies have been off since dropping both games of their MIAC series against St. Thomas, falling 2-0 at St. Thomas Arena on Jan. 27, before dropping a 5-2 decision the following day at the National Hockey Center | UST Recap 1 * UST Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint John's—A Year Ago:
• February 12, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored the game's first three goals and went into the locker room after the second period boasting what appeared to be a commanding 3-1 advantage. Unfortunately for Saint Mary's, over the final 20 minutes, nothing went right for the Cardinals, as Saint John's scored four, third-period goals—including the game-winner with 3:13 remaining in regulation—to lift the Johnnies to a 5-4, come-from-behind win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• February 13, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: The third period was not kind to Saint Mary's in its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Saint John's. Just a day after surrendering four goals in the games' final 20 minutes in Friday's 5-4 loss to the Johnnies, the Cardinals gave up three third-period goals in Saturday's rematch, as Saint John's broke open a one-goal game and handed Saint Mary's a 4-2 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Johnnies close out their two-game conference series on Saturday with a 7 p.m. MIAC rematch at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, Minn.
 
MIAC Playoff Picture:
1. St. Thomas: 9-2-1 MIAC, 28 points (12 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. Augsburg (7-1-4); 2 vs. St. Olaf (4-7-1)
2. Saint Mary's: 8-5-1 MIAC, 26 points (6 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. Saint John's (5-5-1)
3. Augsburg: 7-1-4 MIAC, 26 points (12 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. St. Thomas (9-2-1); 2 vs. Saint John's (5-5-1)
4. Hamline: 7-4-3 MIAC, 26 points (6 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. Gustavus (1-10-1)
5. Concordia: 6-5-1 MIAC, 20 points (12 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. St. Olaf (4-7-1); 2 vs. Bethel (1-9-2)
6. Saint John's: 5-5-2 MIAC, 17 points (12 possible points remaining) | Games left: 2 vs. Saint Mary's (8-5-1); 2 vs. Augsburg (7-1-4)
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Last Friday's game against Gustavus was the final home game of the regular-season for the Cardinals, who are 6-2-2 on their home ice this season. … With their 3-1 and 2-0 victories over Gustavus last weekend, the Cardinals—unbeaten in their last three games (2-0-1)—improved to 10-0-0 when holding their opponent to two goals or less. Saint Mary's is 2-8-3 when allowing three or more goals. … With their 2-0 win over Gustavus last Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 12-8-3—marking the second time in the last three years Saint Mary's has won 12 of more games. … The Cardinals' five goals in last weekend's sweep of Gustavus came from five different players. Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.), and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) scored the Cardinals' three goals against Gustavus last Friday, while Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) found the back of the net the following evening. … Kinne enters this weekend's games against Saint John's leading the team in goals (13)—one more than Cesarz—and points (22). … Kinne has scored a goal in seven of the Cardinals' last 12 games—and in 12 of the team's 23 contests this season. … Kinne had a hand in five of the Cardinals' seven goals against St. Thomas on Jan. 6-7. The senior scored twice­—including forcing overtime with 16 seconds remaining in regulation—and added an assist in the 6-5 OT loss on Jan. 6, before assisting on Saint Mary's first goal, and scoring the game-winner midway through the second period, in the 2-1 win a day later. … Kinne scored at least one goal in all three games against the Tommies, having also added the game-tying goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation in the teams' 3-3 tie at the MIAC Hockey Showcase. … Kinne's 13 goals are a career high, while his 22 points mark the third straight season he has recorded at least 20 points. … With his first-period assist on Kinne's goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 14, Gruse reached the 100 career-point milestone. Gruse heads into this weekend's games against Saint John's with 105 career points. … Kelvin Walz owns a team-high 13 assists, one more than Gruse and three in front of Albergo. … Gruse is second to Kinne in points with 19. … Kinne and Gruse are two of nine Cardinals who have recorded 10 or more points this season. Albergo (17), Walz (17), Cesarz (16), Heinle (16), Portner (15), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis. / 11), and Meeh (10) are the others. … Walz, who has recorded an assist in six of the team's last 11 games, picked up assists on three of the Cardinals' five goals in their 5-0 Dec. 11 win over Aurora—it was his first career three-assist game. … Walz became the third Cardinal to record a three-assist game this season, joining Albergo and Gruse, who each picked up assists on three of Saint Mary's five goals vs. UW-River Falls on Nov. 5. It was the fourth time in his collegiate career Gruse has had a three-assist night, while Albergo's was his first. … Saint Mary's 77 goals have come from 19 different players—including collegiate firsts from Michael Amelio (Venetia, Pa.), Seth Kamrass (Peachtree Corners, Ga.), Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Dylan Robertson (Darien, Ill.), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) and Joey Mavrin (Lockport, Ill.). … Johnson scored on a first-period penalty shot against MSOE on Nov. 22—it was the Cardinals' first since Jesse Polk scored on a penalty shot during the 2007-08 season. … Saint Mary's boasts six players who have recorded multiple-goal games this season—led by Cesarz, Albergo, and Heinle, who have each achieved the feat twice. Kinne and Walz are the other two. … Albergo's two-goal effort against Hamline on Jan. 21 was his sixth career multiple-goal game. Cesarz and Heinle each own five career-multiple-goal games, while Kinne has four. Walz's two-goal effort against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 was the first multiple-goal game of his career. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) made a career-high 31 saves in recording his first collegiate shutout in last Saturday's 2-0 win over Gustavus. … Phil Heinle (York, Pa.), who also owns a shutout win this season—a 25-save showing against St. Olaf on Nov. 19—stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced against Gustavus last Friday. … Heinle has made 35 or more saves three times this season—kicking out 35 shots in a 5-5 tie vs. Augsburg, while stopping 38 against both Bethel and defending national champion UW-Stevens Point. … Davis made 28 saves against UW-River Falls on Nov. 5 en route to his first win in a Cardinal uniform. … Davis heads into this weekend's games against Saint John's owning a team-best 2.51 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage, with Heinle close behind with a 3.20 GAA and .890 save percentage. … Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.)—making his first start of the season—stopped all 12 shots he face against Aurora on Dec. 11 in recording his first collegiate shutout. … Saint Mary's has played five games against nationally ranked teams this season—going 0-1-1 against No. 11 Augsburg last weekend, while also beating then-No. 3 UW-Stevens Point and splitting with then-No. 15 St. Thomas. … With their Jan. 13 game against UW-Stevens Point, the Cardinals have faced the NCAA's defending national champion three times in the last six seasons, going 2-1. Along with their 4-2 win over the Pointers—last season's national champs—the Cardinals beat national St. Norbert 3-2 during the 2011-12 season, while falling to the then-two-time defending national champion Green Knights 12-2 the following year. … With their 2-1 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 7, the Cardinals have now had six of their last seven games against the Tommies decided by one goal or less, including all three this season—a 6-5 OT loss and 2-1 win last weekend, and a 3-3 tie at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase. … Saint Mary's has played six overtime games this season—having opened the year with a 3-3 tie against St. Thomas and a 3-2 OT loss to Concordia at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, before battling UW-Eau Claire to a 3-3 deadlock, falling to both St. Thomas and UW-Stout by 6-5 counts, and tying Augsburg 5-5. … With their 5-5 tie against Augsburg last Saturday, Saint Mary's is 0-4-5 in its last nine overtime games. The Cardinals' last OT win was a 4-3, double-overtime victory over Concordia in the 2015 MIAC Playoffs. … With their 5-5 deadlock against Augsburg on Jan. 28, Saint Mary's became the last team in the MIAC to record a tie. … Saint Mary's 2-1 shootout win over the Auggies on Jan. 28 was the Cardinals' first SO win since beating Saint John's 2-1 in a shootout on Nov. 21, 2014. … Nine of the Cardinals' 23 games this season have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals have scored first in 14 of their 23 games this season—including 10 of their 12 wins. Saint Mary's is 10-3-1 when scoring first, and 2-5-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 29-17 in the first period. … The Cardinals, who had their five-game winning streak snapped with a 5-2 loss to Milwaukee School of Engineering on Nov. 22, snapped a season-high three-game losing streak with their 7-2 win over Aurora on Dec. 10. … Saint Mary's loss to Concordia on Dec. 2 snapped their conference-opening four-game winning streak. The Cardinals' four straight wins to open the conference was the first time since the 1997-98 season that Saint Mary's has opened MIAC play 4-0-0. … The Cardinals' 3-3 tie against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 4 marked the second straight meeting between the two teams that has ended in a 3-3 deadlock.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight "home" games for the Johnnies, who will play both games against the Cardinals at the Municipal Athletic Complex in St. Cloud, Minn., before hosting Augsburg at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center next Friday. … SJU enters Friday's contest vs. Saint Mary's having dropped back-to-back games. … Eleven of Saint John's 21 games have been decided by two goals or less—including four of its eight losses. SJU is 4-4-3 in those 11 games. … Sam Valerius and Garrett Riebling netted the Johnnies' two goals in their 5-2 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 28. … Valerius' goal against St. Thomas on Jan. 28 was his team-leading seventh of the season. … Valerius also leads the team in points with 18, while sharing the team's assist lead (11) with Cole Souto. … Brady Heppner and Evan Okeley are second to Valerius with six goals. … Heppner, Robb Stautz, and Daniel Tripicchio have all netted a team-best two-game winning goals. … Saint John's has had a player score two goals in a game seven times this season, with Valerius achieving the feat twice. … Twenty of the Johnnies' 61 goals have come on the power play—SJU has also netted one shorthanded goal. … Tyler Nelson has started 14 of the Johnnies' 21 games in goal, compiling a 2.60 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage. … Andrew Lindgren has started the other seven games in goal, compiling a 2.21 GAA and a .911 save percentage. … Nelson stopped all 31 shots he faced in blanking UW-Superior on Jan. 7. … SJU has outscored its opponents 6`-56—including 28-21 in the third period. … Saint John's opened the season with three straight 5-2 victories. … The Johnnies have scored four of more goals eight times this season—including a season-high six goals in a 6-1 win over Lawrence on Nov. 27. … Saint John's has played four overtime games this season, beating St. Scholastica 3-2, while tying UW-Eau Claire (3-3), Gustavus (2-2), and St. Olaf (2-2). … SJU is 0-2 in shootouts, falling to Gustavus 1-0 and St. Olaf 2-0. … Saint John's has scored first in 11 of its 21 games, going 7-2-2. The Johnnies are 3-6-1 when their opponent scores the game's first goal.