By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — After back-to-back road games against nationally ranked nonconference opponents, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, heading to Augsburg's Ed Saugestad Rink for a 7 p.m. matchup against the 13th-ranked Auggies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-1 MIAC, 0-5-1 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (2-0-0 MIAC, 5-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: November 9-10, 2018 * Stevens Point, Wis./Eau Claire, Wis.: The Cardinals dropped a pair of nonconference games against nationally ranked opponents last weekend, falling to top-ranked UW-Stevens Point 3-2 last Friday at K.B. Willett Arena, before dropping a 3-1 decision to No. 10 UW-Eau Claire the following evening at Hobbs Ice Arena | UWSP Recap * UWEC Recap
• Augsburg: November 9-10, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Auggies picked up a pair of convincing MIAC wins last weekend, rolling to a 5-0 victory on their home ice at Ed Saugestad Rink on Friday, before completing the sweep with a 3-1 win at the Schwan's Super Rink the following night | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
• November 17, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: After conceding 12 goals last weekend in a pair of nonconference contests, the Cardinals were hoping to find their defensive groove again. Unfortunately, after 60 minutes against high-powered — and third-ranked — Augsburg, the Cardinals were left still searching, as the Auggies erupted for three first-period goals and never looked back in rolling to a 5-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• November 18, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg rattled off five unanswered tallies — two in the second period and three more in the third — as the Auggies completed the two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the Cardinals with a second straight 5-1 victory at Ed Saugestad Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Auggies will conclude their two-game conference series on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game at Augsburg is the third straight road game for the Cardinals, who play 10 of their first 12 games away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … All six of the Cardinals' games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including three decided by one goal or less and two that have gone into overtime. … Saint Mary's last four games have all been against nationally ranked teams — two vs. No. 15 St. Thomas on Nov. 2-3, and last weekend's showdowns against top-ranked UW-Stevens Point and No. 10 UW-Eau Claire. … Saint Mary's scored three goals in both of its games against No. 15 St. Thomas on Nov. 2-3 — and have scored three times in three of their last five contests. … Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) scored goals in both of the Cardinals' games last weekend — and has now scored in three straight games. … Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) had his three-game goal-scoring streak snapped against No. 10 UW-Eau Claire last Saturday. … Liverance had a hand in all three goals — scoring once and assisting on the other two — in Saint Mary's 5-3 loss to St. Thomas on Nov. 3. … All three of the Cardinals' goals in their 3-3 tie against St. Thomas on Nov. 2 were scored by freshmen. Liverance picked up his first two collegiate goals, while fellow freshman Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.) scored the other. … Liverance and Hatton were at it again in last Saturday's rematch with the Tommies, as Liverance netted his team-leading third goal and Hatton added his second in a Cardinal uniform. … Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) is the third Cardinal to net his first collegiate goal this season, finding the back of the net against Concordia on Oct. 27. … Liverance heads into this weekend's conference games against Augsburg owning the team lead in both goals (4) and points (6). … DiBacco is second to Liverance in goals with three, followed by Hatton and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) with two each. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) picked up a pair of assists against UW-Stevens Point last Friday to push his team-leading assist total to five. … Robertson posted back-to-back two-assist games against St. Thomas on Nov. 3 and UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 9. … Saint Mary's has netted four power-play goals through six games this season — led by Hatton with two. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made 32 saves against UW-Stevens Point last Friday and has made 30 or more saves in all three of his starts in goal this season. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.), meanwhile, finished with a season- and career-high 43 saves against UW-Eau Claire last Saturday in his third start of the season. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist on Stang's goal against Gustavus on Oct. 26— heads into Saint Mary's matchup against Augsburg Friday with a 2.62 goals-against-average and a .926 save percentage. Rogers, meanwhile, boasts a 3.61 GAA and .897 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored eight of its 13 goals in the third period. On the flip side, the Cardinals have surrendered 21 goals through four games — including nine in the third stanza. … The Cardinals have scored first in three of their six games, going 0-2-1. Saint Mary's is 0-3-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• With their sweep of Bethel last weekend, the Auggies have now won five of their first six games — the lone loss, a 7-3 setback to UW-River Falls on Nov. 3. … The Auggies have scored three of more goals in all six of their games this season — including a season-high five in wins over Hamline (5-2) and Bethel (5-0). … Augsburg allowed more goals against UW-River Falls (7) than it has in its other five games combined (5). … Alex Rodriguez enters this weekend's MIAC series against Saint Mary's leading the Auggies with seven goals, with Chandler Madry and Austin Dollimer second to Rodriguez with three each. … Tommy Carey is the team's assist leader with seven, while Rodriguez owns the team's points lead with 10, two more than both Madry (3 G, 5 A) and Carey (1 G, 7 A). … Augsburg's five game-winning goals have come from five different players — Rodriguez, Madry, Charlie Parker, Eric Brenk, and Jake Larson. … Augsburg has netted five power play goals through six games, led by Rodriguez with two. … Augsburg has used three different goalies this season, led by Danill Gerasimov, who has started four of the team's six games. Gerasimov owns a 2.34 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage, while Nick Schmitt has not allowed a goal in two starts, stopping all 31 shots he's faced. … Jon Albers has also seen time between the pipes, allowing two goals on 13 shots in 33 minutes of work. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 22-12 — including 10-1 in the third period. … The Auggies have scored first just twice through six games — winning obth. Augsburg is 3-1-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.