By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Gustavus on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain the Gusties in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5-1 MIAC, 6-10-2 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (7-4-0 MIAC, 8-9-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Night:
• January 26, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) scored in the first period and Aaron Davis stopped all 31 shots he faced as the Cardinals opened their MIAC series against Gustavus with a 1-0 win at Don Roberts Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in conference play next weekend with a pair of games against Bethel. Saint Mary's and BU will square off at 7 p.m. at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., on Friday, before heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
• Gustavus: The Gusties are now off until Feb. 9-10, when they return home to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., next weekend for a pair of conference games against Concordia. GAC and CC will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday, and then return for a 2 p.m. matinee the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game at Gustavus was 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 three straight for the first time this season. … The Cardinals now have scored more goals in their current three-game winning streak (13) than they had in all five games of their five-game winless streak (10). … With Friday's 1-0 win over Gustavus, the Cardinals have now blanked the Gusties in each of their last two meetings—having posted a 3-0 shutout over GAC in the second game of their two-game series a year ago. … Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against Gustavus Friday. The sophomore has scored three goals in his four games since coming back from an injury. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) picked up an assist against Gustavus Friday and has now recorded at least one point in four straight games. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored two goals and added an assist in the Cardinals' 7-4 win over UW-Stout on Jan. 19. 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. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) earned his first collegiate multiple-point game with a pair of assists against UW-Stout on Jan. 19. … Jack Stang heads into Saturday's rematch 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—Jack Stang (11), Johnson (11) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn. / 11) are the other three. … Heinle, Stang, Cummings, Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) own the Cardinals' six 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. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) stopped all 31 shots he faced in recording his second collegiate shutout. The senior also made 31 saves in his first collegiate shutout—also against Gustavus—on Feb. 4, 2017. … Davis has started 12 of the team's 18 games in goal, compiling a 3.30 goals-against-average and .884 save percentage, while Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) owns a 2.67 GAA and .904 save percentage in three appearances. … 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. … 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. … 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 its 7-4 win over UW-Stout on Jan. 19 were a season high—and the most since netting seven in a 7-2 win over Aurora on Dec. 10. … The Cardinals are 13-1-2 in the last 16 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 20-10 in the first period and 21-16 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 4-3-0 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 three of their next four games on their home ice—the lone exception, Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's. GAC owns a 4-4-0 record on its home ice, while going 4-5-3 away from Don Roberts Ice Arena. … The Gusties are now 2-2-1 in their last five games, while going 3-6-2 in their last 11. … 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 their 4-1 win over the Auggies on Jan. 19, while Jared Bromberg and Colin Hernon scored in the teams' rematch the following day. … Erickson heads into Saturday's rematch 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—who made 26 saves against Saint Mary's Friday evening—has started 12 of the team's 20 games in goal, compiling a 2.06 goals-against-average and a .930 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 334 saves and has been in goal for both of the Gusties' shutout wins. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 49-47 through 20 games—including 13-12 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 20 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 (1-8-0). … 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).