By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Don Roberts Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown against Gustavus.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5-1 MIAC, 5-10-2 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (7-3-0 MIAC, 8-8-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 19, 2018 * Menomonie, Wis.: Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored two goals and added an assist, and the Cardinals put together three-goal periods in the first and third in rolling to a 7-4 nonconference win over UW-Stout | Recap
• Gustavus—January 19-20, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn./Minneapolis, Minn.: The Gusties split their two conference games with Augsburg last weekend. GAC jumped out to a 2-0 lead and added a pair of third-period empty-net goals in beating the Auggies at Don Roberts Ice Arena last Friday, only to give up the game-winning goal three minutes into the third period in falling to AU 3-2 in the rematch at Ed Saugestad Rink the following evening | AU Recap 1 * AU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus—A Year Ago:
• February 3, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored a pair of first-period power-play goals—while killing off all four Gustavus man advantages—as the Cardinals collected a crucial 3-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• February 4, 2017 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals—thanks to goals by Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.), and the shutout goaltending of Aaron Davis (Mount, Minn.)—inched a step closer to locking up one of the five conference playoff spots, collecting a 2-0 victory at Don Roberts Ice Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game at Gustavus is the fifth straight road game for the Cardinals, who played nine of its first 13 contests at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … After snapping a five-game winless streak (0-4-1) with a 5-3 win over Concordia on Jan. 13, the Cardinals have now won back-to-back games for the first time since beating Bethel (3-1) on Oct. 29 and St. Thomas (4-1) five days later. … The Cardinals have scored more goals in their current two-game winning streak (12) than they had in all five games of their five-game winless streak (10). … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored two goals and added an assist in the Cardinals' 7-4 win over UW-Stout last Friday. It was the second time this season the Cardinal sophomore has recorded three or more points in a game. Stang scored twice and added a pair of assists for a career-high four-point night against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. … Saint Mary's other five goals vs. UW-Stout last Friday came from five different players—Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio), Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.). … Warner, Meeh, and Cummings also had assists vs. the Blue Devils,, while Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) earned his first collegiate two-game game with a pair of assists. … Meeh has now scored in each of the Cardinals' last three games. … Stang heads into this weekend's games against Gustavus leading the team with six goals—one more than Jay Heinle (York, Pa.), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.), and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.). … Heinle is the team-leader in both assists (9) and points (14). … Heinle is one of four Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Stang (11), Johnson (11) and Walz (10) are the other three. … Heinle, Stang, Arnold, Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), and Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) own the Cardinals' five game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored nine power play goals—two from Johnson, Cesarz, Wasell, and Meeh, and one from Walz. … Cesarz and Johnson own the Cardinals' two shorthanded goals. … Saint Mary's boasts three players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Stang, Owen, and Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.). Seper netted his first goal as a Cardinals against Saint John's on Dec. 2; Stang's came against St. Thomas on Nov. 3, while Owen's was against Bethel on Oct. 29. … Walz and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) each scored once and had two assists in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over Concordia on Jan. 13. It was the fourth collegiate three-point game for both Cesarz and Walz. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) assisted on two of the Cardinals' four goals in their 5-4 overtime loss to Concordia on Jan. 12—it was the first multiple-point game of his collegiate career. … Johnson picked up a pair of multiple-point games against Lake Forest on Nov. 24-25, scoring twice in Saint Mary's 6-3 loss on Nov. 24 and adding a goal and an assist in the Cardinals' 4-2 win the following night in the teams' rematch. … Walz collected assists on all three of the Cardinals' goals against Lake Forest on Nov. 24. It was the second time in his collegiate career that he has recorded three assists in a game. … Owen and Arnold each recorded their first collegiate multiple-point games against Lake Forest on Nov. 25—Owen added two assists to his second-period goal, while Arnold notched a pair of assists. … Cesarz scored twice in Saint Mary's 5-4 loss to No. 11 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. Cesarz's two-goal effort against UW-Eau Claire was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) collected his first collegiate win last Friday against UW-Stout, stopping 28 Blue Devils shots. … Nast (4.55 GAA, .864 save percentage) stopped a season-high 41 shots in his first collegiate start against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) notched his first career win—in his first collegiate start—stopping 37 of the 39 shots in faced in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) has started 11 of the team's 17 games in goal, compiling a 3.61 goals-against-average and .872 save percentage, while Rogers owns a 2.67 GAA and .904 save percentage. … Davis earned his first collegiate shutout, making 31 saves in a 2-0 win over Gustavus on Feb. 4, 2017, while stopping 28 shots en route to his first win as a Cardinal on Nov. 5, 2016. … The Cardinals' 5-4 loss to Concordia on Jan. 12 was their third overtime game of the season—with the first two ending in ties. Saint Mary's battled St. Thomas to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 4, and tied Lawrence 2-2 on Dec. 6. The Cardinals played eight OT games a year ago, going 1-4-3. … Saint Mary's seven goals in last Friday's 7-4 win over UW-Stout were a season high—and the most since netting seven in a 7-2 win over Aurora on Dec. 10. … The Cardinals are 12-1-2 in the last 15 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less. … With their 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25, Saint Mary's snapped its season-high five-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's has scored 20 its 45 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 20-9 in the first period and 21-16 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 3-3-0 when scoring first, while going 2-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• The Gusties play four of their next five games on their home ice, beginning Friday evening against Saint Mary's. GAC owns a 4-3-0 record on its home ice, while going 4-5-3 away from Don Roberts Ice Arena. … The Gusties are now 2-2-0 in their last four games, while going 3-5-2 in their last 10. … Gustavus' six goals against Augsburg last weekend came from six different players. J.P. Eykyn, Jake McCann, Colton Schmidt, and Evan Erickson netted the Gusties' four goals in last Friday's 4-1 win over the Auggies, while Jared Bromberg and Colin Hernon scored in Saturday's rematch. … Erickson heads into the weekend series against Saint Mary's leading the Gusties with seven goals, one more than Hernon. … Hernon boasts a team-best nine assists, one more than Caleb Anderson, while also leading the team with 15 points. … Hernon is one of four Gusties with 10 or more points this season, and is joined by Erickson (13), Anderson (12) and Schmidt (10). … Gustavus' eight game-winning goals have come from seven different players. Anderson owns a team-leading two game-winners, with Hernon, Schmidt, Jake McCann, Van Sullivan, Reid Brown, and Dominic Picciano scoring the others. … Gustavus has scored two shorthanded goals this season—both coming off the stick of Anderson. … Hernon and Sullivan have each scored a team-leading two of the Gusties' 13 power-play goals. … Chris Amsden has started 11 of the team's 19 games in goal, compiling a 2.15 goals-against-average and a .928 save percentage. Robbie Goor has started seven games (2.11 GAA, .919 save %), with Isaak Tjaden (4.14 GAA, .862 save %) making the other start. … Amsden leads the team with 308 saves and has been in goal for both of the Gusties' shutouts. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 49-46 through 19 games—including 13-11 in the first period and 28-17 in the second. GAC's opponents own a 17-8 scoring advantage in the third period. … The Gusties have scored a season-high five goals twice this season—winning both times by a 5-2 count. GAC beat St. Thomas 5-2 on Jan. 12 and Hamline 5-2 on Nov. 17. … The Gusties have scored first in 11 of their 19 games this season. GAC is 7-1-3 when scoring first, while managing just one win when their opponent nets the game's first goal (1-7-0). … Gustavus has played four overtime games this season—falling to Augsburg 3-2, while tying Concordia (1-1) and Aurora twice (3-3 both times).