ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against St. Catherine on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Drake Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Wildcats.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-10-3 MIAC, 6-14-3 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (4-10-2 MIAC, 8-13-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 10-11, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals played a pair of overtime games against Saint Benedict last weekend, getting the game-winning goal from Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) 47 seconds into OT in Saint Mary's 4-3 win over the Blazers last Friday, while Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) scored with 54 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Cardinals to a 2-2 deadlock the following afternoon | CSB Recap 1 * CSB Recap 2
• St. Catherine—February 10-11, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Wildcats played a pair of one-goal games against Hamline last weekend, falling to the Pipers 3-2 at Drake Arena last Friday, before rebounding with a 2-1 win the following afternoon at Oscar Johnson Arena | HU Recap 1 * HU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine—A Year Ago:
• February 19, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Heading into the final two games of the regular season, Saint Mary's controlled its own destiny in regards to earning one of the five invitations to the conference post-season tournament. Two wins, and they were in. The Wildcat, however, rained on Saint Mary's parade, scoring three unanswered goals in handing the Cardinals a 4-2 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• February 20, 2016 * St. Paul, Minn.: Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) scored two goals and Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) stopped all 21 shots she faced for her third Saturday shutout, as Saint Mary's—with an assist from Hamline—not only earned a split in its conference series against the Wildcats with a 2-0 victory, but more importantly, the Cardinals also locked up the fifth and final MIAC Playoff berth | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Wildcats close out their regular-season schedules on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• The Cardinals' 4-3 overtime win over Saint Benedict last Friday was their first home win of the season, snapping a nine-game winless streak (0-7-2) at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With last 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. … With their overtime win and tie against Saint Benedict, Saint Mary's improved to 1-1-3 in its five overtime games this season. Along with their 4-3 win and 2-2 tie against Saint Benedict, 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 added an assist, while Kassie Lien (Grantsburg, Wis.) and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) netted the Cardinals' other two goals in last Friday's 4-3 win over Saint Benedict. Kayla Henning (Burnsville, Minn.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) recorded Saint Mary's two goals in the teams' rematch the following day. … Hafiz's two-goal effort against Saint Benedict last Friday 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. … Hafiz 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 on Oct. 28 was her first collegiate goal—as well as the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) leads the team in all three offensive categories—goals (9), assists (6), and points (15). … Hafiz is second to Henderson in goals (8), assists (5) and points (13). … Lien is the third Cardinal with 10 or more points this season, heading into the weekend with 11. … 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. … Saint Mary's boasts four players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Hafiz, Ryan, Hannah Croonquist (St. Paul, Minn.), and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). … Fourteen of the Cardinals' 46 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 last Friday's win over Saint Benedict, while Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) made 26 saves vs. the Blazers the following day. … Corcoran has made 30 or more saves in seven of her last nine 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 2.92 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage, while Shields has a 3.94 GAA and an .884 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored first in 10 of their 23 games—going 5-2-3. Saint Mary's is 1-12-0 when its opponent scores first. … 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). … 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Last Saturday's 2-1 win over Hamline snapped the Wildcats' five-game winless streak (0-4-1). … Eight of St. Catherine's 13 losses have been by one goal—including three 2-1 setbacks and three 3-2 decisions. … Four of SCU's 23 games have been decided by more than two goals—a 4-1 win over UW-Superior and a 6-2 victory vs. Concordia, and 5-1 and 4-1 losses to Lake Forest and St. Olaf, respectively. … Allie Guzy and Tori Thompson scored SCU's two goals in last Friday's 3-2 loss to Hamline, while Anna Carman and Lake Muller netted the Wildcats' two goals in last Saturday's 2-1 win—with Muller's coming with 21 seconds remaining in overtime. … Jordan Solheim enters Friday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in both assists (15) and points (21). … Muller is the team-leader with nine goals, three more than Solheim and Morgan Tentis. … Solheim is one of five Wildcats with 10 or more points—Muller (17), Tentis (13), Thompson (13), and Alex Pederson (10) are the others. … Seventeen of the Wildcats' 54 goals have come on the power play. … Abbi White and Kristen Pechacek have shared the goaltending duties for the Wildcats, with White owning a 2.46 goals-against-average and .930 save percentage in 10 starts, while Pechacek boasts a 2.51 GAA and .932 save percentage. … White recorded a career-high 49 saves in last Saturday's 2-1 win over Hamline. … St. Catherine has scored 54 goals this season, including a season-high six-goal effort in beating Concordia 6-2 on Nov. 19. … Last Saturday's game against Hamline was the fifth overtime game of the season for the Wildcats, who are 2-1-2 in those five contests. … St. Catherine has scored first in 10 of its 23 games, going 4-5-1. The Wildcats are 4-8-1 when they opponent scores first.