By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off the 2018 portion of its schedule on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Wessman Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference showdown against UW-Superior.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-8-2 Overall) at UW-Superior Yellowjackets (5-8-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—Dec. 6, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) scored goals—Cesarz's the game-tying tally early in the third period—as the Cardinals skated to a 2-2 tie against Lawrence at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• UW-Superior—Dec. 29-30, 2017 * Superior, Wis.: The Yellowjackets split their two games at the Superior Showdown, slipping past Concordia 4-2, before falling to Marian 6-1 the following day | Concordia Recap * Marian Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Superior—Their Last Meeting:
• November 14, 2014 * Superior, Wis.: After giving up the game's first 15 shots on goal, the Cardinals scored on their first shot on Yellowjacket goalie Zach Thompson—and their second—as Saint Mary's grabbed a two-goal first-period lead and never relinquished it in handing UW-Superior a 5-2 nonconference setback at Wessman Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, heading to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of games against Concordia. Saint Mary's and CC will play at 7 p.m. Friday evening, with the rematch on Saturday slated for a 2 p.m. start.
• UW-Superior: The Yellowjackets are back in action next weekend with a pair of nonconference road games. UW-Superior heads to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against Bethel on Friday, before heading to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Hamline the following evening.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game against UW-Superior is the first of five consecutive road games for the Cardinals, who do not play a home contest until Jan. 27 against Gustavus. Saint Mary's played nine of its first 13 contests at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Saint Mary's 2-2 tie against Lawrence on Dec. 6 was the Cardinals' second overtime game of the season—with both ending in a tie. Saint Mary's and St. Thomas skated to a 1-1 deadlock on Nov. 4. … 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. … Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) netted Saint Mary's two goals in its 2-2 tie with Lawrence on Dec. 6. … Saint Mary's boasts three players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.), Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), and Ben Owen (Allen, Texas). 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. … Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) 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. … Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) 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 Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska) 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. … Stang and Cesarz each 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—while Stang's was the first of his collegiate career. … Stang also delivered a pair of assists against the Blugolds on Nov. 11 en route to his first collegiate four-point game. … Johnson and Stang share the team lead in goals with four, while Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) is the team-leader in assists with six and points with nine. … Heinle, Stang, and Owen own the Cardinals' three game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored seven power play goals—two from Johnson, Cesarz, and Wasell, and one from Owen. … Johnson scored the Cardinals' first shorthanded goal of the season in Saint Mary's 5-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 18. … 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. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made his first collegiate start in goal in the Cardinals' 5-4 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11, finishing with 41 saves. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) has started eight of the team's 13 games in goal, compiling a 3.33 goals-against-average and .874 save percentage, while Nast boasts a 4.73 GAA and .860 save percentage, and 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. … Saint Mary's has scored half of its goals—13 of 26—in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 14-2 in the first period and 16-11 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 2-1-0 when scoring first, while going 1-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal. … Saint Mary's 1-1 tie with St. Thomas on Nov. 4 was its first overtime game of the season. The Cardinals played eight OT games a year ago, going 1-4-3. … The Cardinals held each of their first four opponents to just one goal.
 
Scouting The UW-Superior Yellowjackets:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home game for the Yellowjackets, who are 4-4-0 on their home ice this season. … UW-Superior's 6-1 loss to Marian on Dec. 30 snapped its three game unbeaten streak (2-0-1). … Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the sixth of eight games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC). UW-Superior is 2-3 vs. the MIAC thus far this season—beating St. Olaf (3-2) and Concordia (4-2), while falling to Augsburg (6-1), Gustavus (3-1), and St. Thomas (2-1). … Thirteen of UW-Superior's 15 games this season have been decided by two goals or less—the lone exceptions, 6-1 losses to Augsburg and Marian. … The Yellowjackets have been held to four goals or less in all 15 contests this season. … Ian Ecklund heads into Friday's game against Saint Mary's owning a team-best nine goals, two more than Daniel Litchke. … Litchke and Andrew Durham share the team lead with seven assists, while Litchke is the Yellowjackets' points leader with 14. … Ecklund and Liam Blais have each scored two game-winning goals, while Brandon Barilliaro owns the other one. … Litchke (4) and Ecklund (3) have accounted for seven of the Yellowjackets' 10 power-play goals this season. … UW-Superior has used two different goalies this season, with Cole Skinner leading the way with 11 starts. Skinner has compiled a 2.35 goals-against-average and .912 save percentage. Kyle Miller has started the other four games, posting a 4.18 GAA and .882 save percentage. … Skinner has made 271 saves, while Miller has stopped 127 of the 144 shots he's faced. … UW-Superior has been outscored 43-31 through 15 games—including 21-10 in the third period. … The Yellowjackets have played three overtime games this season—including two against Northland. UW-Superior lost (3-2) and tied (3-3) the Lumberjacks, while also battling then-10^th-ranked UW-Stevens Point to a 2-2 deadlock. … UW-Superior has scored first in seven of its 15 games, going 3-2-2 when netting the game's opening goal. The Yellowjackets are 2-6-0 when their opponent scores first.