Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain fourth-ranked Gustavus in the first game of the teams' two-game conference series. Game time at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-1 MIAC, 7-9-1 Overall) vs. #4 Gustavus Gusties (6-2-2 MIAC, 12-2-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 19-20, 2018 * Winona, Minn./St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals were only able to come away with one conference point in their two-game MIAC series against St. Catherine. Saint Mary's rallied from a 3-1 deficit to earn a 3-3 tie in last Friday's game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, only to have the Wildcats hold off a late SMU rally to deal the Cardinals a 4-3 setback in the rematch at Drake Arena in the following afternoon | SCU Recap 1 * SCU Recap 2
• Gustavus—January 19-20, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn./St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties collected three of possible four conference points against Augsburg. GAC and Augsburg battled to a 1-1 stalemate at Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., last Friday, before the Gusties came away with a 3-1 win in the rematch a day later at Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn. | AU Recap 1 * AU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• February 3, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) made a career-high 56 saves—including 19 in the first period and 22 more in the second, but the Herculean effort was not enough, as the high-powered Gusties handed the Cardinals a 2-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Don Roberts Ice Arena | Recap
• February 4, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: After surrendering 58 shots in Saint Mary's 2-0 loss to Gustavus the previous evening, the Cardinals limited the high-powered Gusties to just 34 shots in the rematch. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Gusties made the most of those 34 shots, doubling their offensive output from the night before in dealing Saint Mary's its second straight shutout loss—this time a 4-0 decision 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 for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against Gustavus is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Cardinals. After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), four of the Cardinals' seven wins this season have come at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their three goals in both games against St. Catherine last weekend, the Cardinals have now scored three goals in six straight games. … Last Friday's 3-3 tie with St. Catherine was Saint Mary's second overtime game of the season—the Cardinals beat Saint Benedict 2-1 on Dec. 2. The Cardinals went 1-1-3 in their five overtime games a year ago. … The Cardinals last three wins have been decided by one goal—3-2 over Concordia and Lake Forest, and 2-1 over Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals' win over Concordia on Jan. 13 was their seventh of the season. Saint Mary's owned just six wins all of last year. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.), Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.), and Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's three goals against St. Catherine last Friday, while Hafiz, Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.), and Kelsey Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) accounted for the Cardinals' three goals in the rematch last Saturday. … Wendt heads into this weekend's games against nationally ranked Gustavus as the team-leader in goals (9) and points (14). … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.)—who has recorded at least one point in four straight games—and Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) share the team lead in assists with nine each. … Ryan is also second to Wendt in points with 11, while Hafiz and Moser both have 10. … Wendt has scored more goals this season (9) than she had in her first two collegiate seasons combined (5). … Ryan recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against Concordia on Jan. 12, while Wendt recorded her third collegiate multiple-goal game of the season in the rematch with the Cobbers on Jan. 13. The junior recorded her first collegiate hat trick—scoring the Cardinals' first three goals in their 5-3 win over Marian on Oct. 27. She followed that up with a pair of goals in Saint Mary's 3-1 victory over St. Norbert the following day. … Wendt's hat trick was Saint Mary's first since Henderson scored three times against Hamline on Feb. 20, 2017. … Along with her goals in both games against Lake Forest on Jan. 6-7, Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) also had an assist in each game vs. the Foresters—it was her first two multiple-point games of the season, and the 10^th and 11^th of her collegiate career. … Delaney Wolf's (Bismarck, N.D.) goal against aConcordia on Jan. 13—the game-winner at 13:27 of the third period—was her first as a Cardinal. … Wolf became the third player to score her first collegiate goal this season, joining Mady Bodick (Savage, Minn.) and Lauren Rogers (Barrington, Ill.). … Moser picked up a pair of assists in the Cardinals' 3-2 win over Concordia on Jan. 13 and has now posted three two-assist games this season. … Hafiz and Cwik each recorded two-goal games against Saint Benedict on Dec. 1-2. Cwik scored twice against the Blazers on Dec. 1 to record his first multiple-goal game, while Hafiz scored both goals in Saint Mary's overtime win of the Blazers the following day. It was Hafiz's third two-goal game of her two-year collegiate career. … Ryan assisted on three of the Cardinals' six goals vs. CSB on Dec. 1 en route to her first collegiate three-point game, while Rogers added two assists to her second-period goal for her first three-point game in a Cardinal uniform. … Bodick recorded her first collegiate multiple-point game with a goal and an assist vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 11. … Moser assisted on two of the Cardinals' five goals against Marian on Oct. 28, earning the freshman her first collegiate multiple-point game. … Wendt's goal at 19:41 of the first period against Marian on Oct. 27 was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) finished with a season-high 39 saves in last Saturday's 4-3 loss to St. Catherine. … Corcoran has now stopped 30 or more saves in a game eight times—including each of her last three starts. … Corcoran boasts a 2.55 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.)—who picked up the win against St. Norbert in her first collegiate start on Oct. 28, stopping 28 of the Green Knights' 29 shots—made a career-high 41 saves in the Cardinals' 6-3 loss to Lake Forest on Jan. 7. The 41-save effort was four more than Ziakas' previous career-best. … Ziakas has compiled a 3.52 GAA and .900 save percentage in her four starts this season. … The Cardinals have scored 25 goals in their six wins this season, while managing a combined 13 goals in their nine losses. … The Cardinals are 3-2-0 when scoring first, while going 4-7-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … The Cardinals erupted for a season-high six goals in their 6-2 win over Saint Benedict on Dec. 2. … Saint Mary's six goals vs. the Blazers were the most since the Cardinals scored six times in beating St. Olaf 6-3 on Nov. 17, 2016. … The Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak with their 6-2 win over Saint Benedict on Dec. 1, scored more goals against the Blazers in that Dec. 1 game (6) than they had in the previous five games combined (5). … The Cardinals' 3-2 win over Lake Forest on Jan. 6 snapped a 22-game winless streak against the Foresters (0-17-5). Saint Mary's last win over Lake Forest had been a 2-0 victory on Feb. 13, 2002. … With their wins over Marian and St. Norbert in their first two games of the season, the Cardinals opened their season 2-0-0 for the second straight year—having also opened the 2016-17 season with back-to-back wins over Marian and St. Norbert. … With their win over Marian on Oct. 27, the Cardinals have now won their last three season-openers—including back-to-back victories over the Sabres each of their last two seasons. … Saint Mary's season-opening 5-3 win over Marian on Oct. 27 was the first collegiate coaching victory for the Cardinals' Greg Moore.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Gusties head into this weekend's games against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … With their win and tie against Augsburg last weekend, the Gusties are now unbeaten in their last three contests (2-0-1). … Gustavus is now 9-1-2 in its last 12 games—the lone loss a 5-4 setback at St. Thomas on Jan. 13. … Gustavus has surrendered five goals in both of its losses this season—falling to Hamline 5-2 on Nov. 17 and St. Thomas 5-4 on Jan. 13. … Eight of GAC's 12 wins have been by two goals or less. … The Gusties have won three games by shutout—all 3-0 decisions. GAC also owns a 0-0 tie. … Kristen Cash scored the Gusties' lone goal in last Friday's 1-1 tie against Augsburg, while Amelia Vosen scored twice and Diana Draayer once in Gustavus' 3-1 win the following day. … Kaitlyn Klein heads into this weekend's games against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals (16) and points (26). … Erica Power is the team-leader with 14 assists, four more than Klein. … Klein is one of five Gusties with 10 or more points this season—Draayer (20), Power (20), Cash (13), and Vosen (11) are the others. … Klein owns a team-best three power-play goals, one more than Draayer and Cash, while sharing the team lead in game-winning goals (3) with Power. … Gustavus has scored three shorthanded goals this season—two by Power and the other by Draayer—and the Gusties have not allowed a shorthanded tally this season. … Draayer has recorded two hat tricks this season, one more than Klein. … Gustavus has used four different goalies this season, led by Amanda DiNeila, who has started 14 of the team's 17 games, compiling a 1.87 goals-against-average and .923 save percentage. … Paige Press (1.65 GAA, .905 save %) and Bailey Jackson (1.75 GAA, .920 save %) have both appeared in four games and made one start each, while Lauren Tremblay (0.00 GAA, 1.000 save %) has made three appearances and one start. … The Gusties have outscored their opponents 51-30—10-5 in the first period, 19-14 in the second, and 21-11 in the third. … GAC is unbeaten (10-0-0) when scoring the game's first goal, while going 2-2-2 when its opponent scores first. … Gustavus has played four overtime games this season, going 1-0-3. GAC beat UW-Superior (4-3), while tying UW-Eau Claire (2-2), St. Thomas (0-0), and Augsburg (1-1).