WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team closes out its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Saint Benedict on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain the Blazers in a 2 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-10-2 MIAC, 6-14-2 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Blazers (1-12-2 MIAC, 4-16-2 Overall)
 
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Last Night:
• Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) unloaded a blistering slap shot from the point that beat Saint Benedict goalie Julia Carle just 47 seconds into the extra period—and lifted the Cardinals to the 4-3 conference victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals hit the road to open their two-game, regular season-ending conference series against St. Catherine, heading to Drake Arena in St. Paul for a 7 p.m. matchup. The two teams will head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the 2 p.m. rematch a day later.
• Saint Benedict: The Blazers close out the regular season with a pair of games against Augsburg next weekend. CSB will travel to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for Friday's 7 p.m. opener, before hosting the Auggies in a 3 p.m. contest at Dave Torrey Arena in St. Cloud, Minn., the following day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Saturday's game against Saint Benedict is the third straight home games for the Cardinals. … Friday's 4-3 overtime win was the Cardinals' first home win of the season, snapping a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2) at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … 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 Friday's 4-3 OT win over Saint Benedict, five of the Cardinals' six wins have been by two goals or less—the lone exception, a 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17. … Saint Mary's improved to 1-1-2 in its four overtime games this season. The Cardinals dropped a 3-2 OT decision to St. Thomas on Jan. 14, while tying both St. Thomas and Bethel by identical 2-2 decisions. … 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. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored two goals, and Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) netted the other two in Friday's 4-3 win over Saint Benedict. … Hafiz's two-goal effort was the second multiple-goal game of her career, and the fifth time this season she has recorded two or more points in a game. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.), who has scored five goals in Saint Mary's last seven games, leads the team with nine goals, one more than Hafiz. … Henderson recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Hamline on Jan. 20. … 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 also boasts team highs in assists (7) and points (16). … Hafiz, who is second to Henderson with 12 points, recorded at least one point in each of the Cardinals' first six games this season. … 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 Ryan. … Fourteen of the Cardinals' 44 goals have come on special teams—10 power-play and four shorthanded. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.), who finished with a career-high 56 saves in the Cardinals' 2-0 loss to Gustavus on Feb. 3, recorded 21 saves in Friday's win over Saint Benedict. … Corcoran has made 30 or more saves in seven of her last nine starts, while Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) 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 2.92 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage, while Shields has a 4.17 GAA and an .880 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored first in nine of their 22 games—going 5-2-2. 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
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight road games for the Blazers, who are just 1-10-1 on the road this season. … With Friday's 4-3 overtime loss to Saint Mary's, Saint Benedict has now played six straight games decided by one goal or less—with four of those contests going into overtime. … CSB has played in six overtime games this season—falling to Concordia (7-6), St. Olaf (4-3), St. Thomas (4-3), and Saint Mary's (4-3), while tying Bethel (2-2) and St. Catherine (1-1). … Mollie Wise, Alexis Klatt, and Kylie Eklund scored the Blazers' three goals in Friday's overtime loss to Saint Mary's. … Elli Marvin enters Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's leading the team in all three offensive categories—goals (14), assists (11), and points (25). … Wise and Brigette Miller are second to Marvin in goals with eight each, while Miller is also second in assists (8) and points (16). … 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 15 goals via special teams—14 power-play and one shorthanded. … Saint Benedict has used three different goalies this season, led by Julia Carle, who enters Saturday's rematch with Saint Mary's owning a 2.60 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage in 13 starts. Amy Jost (4.02 GAA, .879 save percentage) has made seven starts, while Angel Hillstrom (6.83, .743 save percentage) has started two games. … Saint Benedict has scored first in 10 of its 22 games, going 3-6-1. The Blazers are 1-10-1 when their opponent scores first.