WINONA, 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 entertain the Blazers in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-9-2 MIAC, 5-14-2 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (1-11-2 MIAC, 4-15-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 3-4, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals came up empty in their two conference games against high-powered Gustavus last weekend, falling 2-0—despite 56 saves from Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.)—last Friday at Don Roberts Ice Rink, before dropping a 4-0 decision the following afternoon at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | GAC Recap 1 * GAC Recap 2
• Saint Benedict—February 3-4, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn./St. Cloud, Minn.: The Blazers picked up three of a possible four conference points in their two-game MIAC series against St. Catherine, battling the Wildcats to a 1-1 tie last Friday at Drake Arena, before posting a 3-2 win at Dave Torrey Arena the following afternoon | SCU Recap 1  * SCU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict—A Year Ago:
• February 12, 2016 * St. Cloud, Minn.: With four games remaining in the regular season, Saint Mary's made sure to get its MIAC playoff push off to an impressive start. The Cardinals scored a pair of second-period goals, and netted an insurance tally midway through the third, as Saint Mary's collected a 3-1 conference win over Saint Benedict at the Municipal Athletic Complex | Recap
• February 13, 2016 * St. Cloud, Minn.: For the second straight weekend, Saint Mary's Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) has been a virtual brick wall in game two of the Cardinals' two-game MIAC series, as the senior goalie recorded her second straight Saturday shutout, stopping all 21 shots she faced in leading Saint Mary's to a 3-0 victory over Saint Benedict at the Municipal Athletic Complex | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Blazers return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Benedict is the second of three straight home games for the Cardinals, who are still searching for their first win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena this season, going 0-7-2 in their nine home games. … The Cardinals play three of their final four regular-season games at home—the lone exception, next Friday's game at St. Catherine. … The Cardinals' 2-1 win over nationally ranked and league-leading Augsburg on Jan. 28 snapped their four-game losing streak and seven-game winless streak (0-6-1). … With their 2-1 win over Augsburg on Jan. 28, four of the Cardinals' five wins have been by two goals or less—the lone exception, a 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17 were not only a season high, but also the highest single-game offensive output since scoring six against both Marian and Hamline during the 2009-2010 season. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) finished with a career-high 56 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to Gustavus last Friday. The 56-save effort was 14 saves more than her previous career best. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) recorded 30 saves in the Cardinals' 4-0 loss to Gustavus in the teams' rematch last Saturday. … Corcoran has now made 30 or more saves in seven of her last eight starts, while Shields has also stopped 30-plus shots seven times this season—including a season-high 41-save effort against St. Thomas on Jan. 14. … Shields owns the single-game school record for saves, stopping 79 shots in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to UW-Superior on Oct. 31. The 79-save effort—which ranks No. 6 all-time in NCAA Division III history—is 24 saves more than the Cardinals' previous record of 55, set by Nikki Jung against Gustavus on Jan. 21, 2005. … Corcoran boasts a team-leading 3.92 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage, while Shields has a 4.17 GAA and an .880 save percentage. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) scored Saint Mary's two goals in its 2-1 victory over Augsburg on Jan. 28. … With her goal against Augsburg, Henderson has now scored five goals in Saint Mary's last six games. Henderson netted four goals in the Cardinals' two games against Hamline on Jan. 20-21, recording her first collegiate hat trick to account for three of the team's five goals in the Cardinals' 7-5 loss to Hamline on Jan. 20, before netting one of Saint Mary's two goals in its 4-2 loss the following day. … Henderson's hat trick marked the first time the Cardinals have had a player score three goals in a game since Mary DeBartolo did so against UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 4, 2013. … Henderson heads into this weekend's games against Saint Benedict owning a team-leading nine goals, three more than Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) and Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.). … Henderson also boasts team highs in assists (5) and points (14). … Hafiz, who is second to Henderson with 10 points, recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' first six games this season—including four multiple-point games. … Hafiz's goal at 9:50 of the opening period against Marian was her first collegiate goal—as well as the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Hannah Croonquist's (St. Paul, Minn.) first-period tally against UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 10 was the first of her collegiate career. … Croonquist became the fourth player to net her first goal as a Cardinal this season, joining Hafiz, Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.), and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.). … Twelve of the Cardinals' 40 goals have come on special teams—eight power-play and four shorthanded. … Saint Mary's has scored 15 goals in the second period and 18 in the third, while the Cardinals' opponents have netted 26 goals in the second and 32 in the third. … With their two overtime games against St. Thomas on Jan. 13-14, the Cardinals have now played six games decided by one goal or less. Saint Mary's opened the season with one-goal wins over Marian (4-3) and St. Norbert (5-4), and added a 2-2 tie vs. Bethel, a 4-3 loss against St. Olaf, and a 2-2 tie and 3-2 loss to St. Thomas. … The Cardinals' 3-2 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 21 marked the first time in three overtime contests that the game did not end in a tie. … The Cardinals' 3-1 win over UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 10 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … The Cardinals have scored first in eight of their 21 games—going 4-2-2. Saint Mary's is 1-12-0 when its opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's wins over Marian and St. Norbert on Oct. 28-29 marked the first time the Cardinals have opened the year with back-to-back wins since beating the same two teams to open the 2010-11 season. … The Cardinals' combined nine goals against St. Olaf on Nov. 17 and Nov. 19 were the most in a two-game weekend series since netting nine in sweeping Marian 6-0 and 3-2 on Jan. 9-10, 2010. … Saint Mary's and St. Norbert scored seven third-period goals in their nonconference game on Oct. 29—including five in the game's final 1:33.  
 
Scouting The Saint Benedict Blazers:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of three straight road games for the Blazers, who are just 1-9-1 on the road this season. … With their 1-1 tie and 3-2 win against St. Catherine last weekend, Saint Benedict has now played five straight games decided by one goal or less—with three of those contests going into overtime. … Mollie Wise scored CSB's lone goal in the Blazers' 1-1 tie against St. Catherine last Friday, while Courtney Conlin, Elli Marvin, and Shelby Schneider accounted for CSB's three goals in the 3-2 win over SCU a day later. … Marvin's goal against St. Catherine last Saturday was her team-leading 14^th of the season. Marvin also leads the Blazers with 11 assists and 25 points. … Brigette Miller is second to Marvin in all three offensive categories with eight goals, eight assists and 16 points. … Shelby Schneider owns two of the Blazers' four game-winning goals, with Marvin and Allison Kirk accounting for the other two. … Saint Benedict has scored 16 goals via special teams—15 power-play and one shorthanded. … Saint Benedict has used three different goalies this season, led by Julia Carle, who enters the weekend with a 2.69 goals-against-average and .923 save percentage in 13 starts. Amy Jost (3.63 GAA, .892 save percentage) has made six starts, while Angel Hillstrom (6.83, .743 save percentage) has started two games. … CSB has outscored its opponents 22-20 in the first period, but have been outscored 20-16 in the second and 26-13 in the third. … Saint Benedict has scored first in 10 of its 21 games, going 3-6-1. The Blazers are 1-9-1 when their opponent scores first. … CSB has played in five overtime games this season—falling to Concordia (7-6), St. Olaf (4-3), and St. Thomas (4-3), while tying Bethel (2-2) and St. Catherine (1-1).