WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey hosts Gustavus in the first game of the teams' two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series on Friday. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-5-1 MIAC, 10-8-3 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (1-8-1 MIAC, 2-13-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 27-28, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals collected two key conference points in last Saturday's 5-5 tie against league-leading Augsburg—beating the Auggies 2-1 in a shootout at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Auggies picked up a 4-3 win over Saint Mary's is the teams' first game of the two-game series last Friday at Ed Saugestad Rink | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
• Gustavus—January 27-28, 2017 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Gusties dropped both of their conference games against Concordia last weekend at the Moorhead Sports Center, falling 4-0 in the opener last Friday, before dropping a 3-2 overtime decision the following afternoon | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• February 5, 2016 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals used a pair of scoring outbursts—including scoring two goals in six seconds early in the second period—en route to a clutch, 4-1 conference win over the host Gusties at Don Roberts Ice Arena | Recap
• February 6, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's put together one of its best periods of the season—completing dominating Gustavus over the game's final 20 minutes. Problem was, a less-than-stellar first period put the Cardinals in a 3-0 hole—a hole they could not dig out of—as Gustavus dealt Saint Mary's a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties head to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday, as the teams complete their two-game conference series with a 7 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Gustavus is the final home game of the regular-season for the Cardinals, who close out their schedule at Gustavus on Saturday, and at Saint John's next weekend. … With last Saturday's 5-5 deadlock against league-leading Augsburg, Saint Mary's became the last team in the MIAC to record a tie. … Saint Mary's 2-1 shootout win over the Auggies last Saturday was the Cardinals' first SO win since beating Saint John's 2-1 in a shootout on Nov. 21, 2014. … With last weekend's 4-3 loss and 5-5 tie against Augsburg, Saint Mary's moved to 2-8-3 when allowing three or more goals. The Cardinals are a perfect 8-0-0 when holding their opponent to two goals or less. … Taylor Portner (Andover, Minn.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) each scored a goal in both games against league-leading Augsburg last weekend, while Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), Michael Amelio (Venetia, Pa.), and Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.). … Kinne enters the conference series against Gustavus leading the team in goals (12)—two more than Cesarz—and points (21). … Kinne has scored a goal in six of the Cardinals' last 10 games—and in 11 of the team's 21 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. … 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 Gustavus with 103 career points. … Walz owns a team-high 12 assists, one more than both Gruse and Albergo. … Gruse is second to Kinne in points with 17. … Kinne and Gruse are two of eight Cardinals who have recorded 10 or more points this season. Albergo (16), Walz (16), Cesarz (14), Heinle (14), Portner (14), and Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis. / 11) are the others. … Walz, who has recorded an assist in five of the team's last nine 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 72 goals have come from 19 different players—including collegiate firsts from Amelio, 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 Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.), and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.), who have each achieved the feat twice. Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) 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. … Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) made 35 saves in the Cardinals' 5-5 tie against Augsburg last Saturday, while Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) finished with 28 saves against the Auggies a day earlier. … Heinle's 35-save effort was just three shy of his season-high. The senior stopped 38 shots 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. … Heinle made 25 saves against St. Olaf on Nov. 19 en route to his first shutout of the season—and fourth of his career. … Davis heads into this weekend's games against Gustavus owning a team-best 2.85 goals-against-average and .896 save percentage, with Heinle close behind with a 3.37 GAA and .887 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 a 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 now 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 now 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. … Nine of the Cardinals' 21 games this season have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals have scored first in 12 of their 20 games this season—including eight of their 10 wins. Saint Mary's is 8-3-1 when scoring first, and 2-5-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's has outscored its opponents 27-17 in the first period, while holding a 22-21 scoring edge in the third 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2016-17 Roster | 2016-17 Statistics | 2016-17 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight road game for the Gusties, who are 2-9-0 on the road this season. GAC is still searching for its first home win, going 0-4-4 at Don Roberts Ice Arena this season. … With last Saturday's 3-2 loss to Concordia, the Gusties have now gone to overtime in three of their last four games—with all three being 3-2 decisions. GAC beat St. Olaf 3-2, while falling to Concordia and St. Olaf. … Gustavus has now played seven overtime games this season, going 1-2-4. … Twelve of Gustavus' 19 games have been decided by two goals or less. … Jared Docken and Ross Kovacs netted the Gusties' two goals in last Saturday's OT loss to Concordia. It was the first goal of the season for both. … Jake Bushey heads into this weekend's games against Saint Mary's leading the team in assists (13) and points (16). … Evan Erickson has scored a team-high seven goals, three more than Colin Hernon. … Erickson and Russell Barone have scored the Gusties' two game-winning goals. … Gustavus has scored just eight power-play goals in 62 chances (13 percent). … Erik Johnson and Chris Amsden have shared the brunt of the goaltending duties for the Gusties this season. Amsden owns a team-best 2.79 goals-against-average and boasts a .902 save percentage in eight starts, while Johnson boasts a 2.87 GAA and team-leading .905 save percentage in 10 starts. … Johnson has been in goal for both of the Gusties' wins this season, stopping 23 shots in GAC's 4-1 win over St. Olaf at the MIAC Hockey Showcase on Oct. 29, while kicking out 29 Ole shots in the Gusties' 3-2 OT win over St. Olaf on Jan. 20. … Gustavus' 3-2 overtime win over St. Olaf on Jan. 20 snapped the Gusties' season-high 14-game losing streak. … GAC has been outscored 59-34—18-7 in the first period, 22-14 in the second, and 17-12 in the third. … Gustavus has scored first seven times this season, going 1-4-2. GAC is 1-9-2 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.