By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Don Roberts Ice Arena for the second game of their two-game conference series against fourth-ranked Gustavus. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-2 MIAC, 7-9-2 Overall) at #4 Gustavus Gusties (6-2-3 MIAC, 12-2-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• January 26, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored in the first period and Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) made a season-high 41 saves, as the Cardinals battled fourth-ranked Gustavus to a 1-1 tie at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in conference play next weekend with a pair of games against Bethel. Saint Mary's and BU are slated to square off at 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before heading to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
• Gustavus: The Gusties are back in action next weekend with a pair of MIAC games against St. Catherine. GAC and SCU will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday at Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for heading to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against Gustavus was 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—and both of their ties—have come at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With Friday's 1-1 decision against Gustavus, the Cardinals have now played to an overtime tie in each of their last two Friday night games—Saint Mary's battled St. Catherine to a 3-3 deadlock last Friday. … Saint Mary's had its streak of six straight games scoring three goals snapped with Friday's 1-1 tie vs. Gustavus. … Friday's 1-1 tie against Gustavus was the Cardinals' third overtime game of the season—Saint Mary's beat Saint Benedict 2-1 on Dec. 2 and tied St. Catherine 3-3 last Friday. … 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.) scored the Cardinals' lone goal in Friday's 1-1 deadlock with Gustavus—it was her second goal in the last three games. …
 
 
Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) heads into Saturday's rematch 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 of the team's last five 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, Moser, and Cwik all 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.) stopped a season-high 42 shots in Friday's tie against Gustavus. It was the second straight game in which the junior had posted a season-high in saves—Corcoran stopped a then-season-best 39 shots in last Saturday's 4-3 loss to St. Catherine. … Corcoran has now stopped 30 or more shots nine times this season—including each of her last four starts. … Corcoran boasts a 2.42 goals-against-average and a .923 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 4-7-2 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 Saturday's game against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … With their tie against Saint Mary's Friday, the Gustavus are now unbeaten in their last four contests (2-0-2). … Gustavus is now 9-1-3 in its last 13 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. … Sydney Henrichs scored the Gusties' lone goal against Saint Mary's Friday—it was her first of the season. … Kaitlyn Klein heads into Saturday's game 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—Diana Draayer (20), Power (20), Kristen Cash (13), and Amelia 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 15 of the team's 18 games, compiling a 1.80 goals-against-average and .922 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 52-31—11-6 in the first period, 19-14 in the second, and 21-11 in the third. … GAC is unbeaten (10-0-1) when scoring the game's first goal, while going 2-2-2 when its opponent scores first. … Gustavus has played five overtime games this season, going 1-0-4. GAC beat UW-Superior (4-3), while tying UW-Eau Claire (2-2), St. Thomas (0-0), Saint Mary's (1-1), and Augsburg (1-1).