By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Augsburg on Friday, as the Cardinals host the Auggies in a 7 p.m. showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC, 2-2-0 Overall) vs. Augsburg Auggies (2-0-0 MIAC, 2-1-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 9-10, 2018 * Winona, Minn./Mendota Heights, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both of their conference games against No. 9 St. Thomas last weekend, falling to the Tommies 1-0 in the teams' MIAC-opener at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before UST erupted for three third-period goals in completing the sweep with a 4-0 victory at the St. Thomas Ice Arena the following afternoon | UST Recap 1 * UST Recap 2
• Augsburg—November 9-10, 2018 * Blaine, Minn./Minneapolis, Minn.: The Auggies kicked off conference play with a pair of wins over Bethel last weekend. Augsburg rolled to a 6-2 win in the teams' first game at the Schwan's Super Rink last Friday, before equaling that offensive output in a 6-0 Game 2 victory at Ed Saugestad Rink the following evening | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Augsburg — A Year Ago:
• November 17, 2017 * Minneapolis, Minn.: The Cardinals scored just five minutes into the opening period of their MIAC game against Augsburg at Ed Saugestad Rink — only to have the Auggies rattle off three unanswered goals in the third period in dealing Saint Mary's a 3-1 setback | Recap
• November 18, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals were the only team on the scoreboard through the first two periods of the first game of their conference series against Augsburg — only to have the Auggies erupt for three, third-period goals for the come-from-behind 3-1 win. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the tables were turned in the teams' rematch at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, as the Auggies were the ones getting on the board first — and second, and third — as Augsburg took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission and never looked back, handing the Cardinals a 3-0 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Augsburg head to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Last Saturday's matchup against St. Thomas was the third road contest in the first four games for the Cardinals. … St. Thomas' goal at 14:07 of the third period last Friday night was the first goal allowed by Saint Mary's goalie Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) this season. Keeley stopped all 16 shots she faced in recording her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — the against Marian on Oct. 27. … Keeley finished with a season- and career-high 28 saves in the Cardinals' 1-0 loss to the Tommies last Friday, while adding 24 saves in the team's rematch the following afternoon. … The Cardinals' last three games have all been decided by shutout — Saint Mary's beat Marian 4-0 on Oct. 27, while falling to ninth-ranked St. Thomas 1-0 and 4-0 last weekend. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) scored three goals during the Cardinals' opening weekend — netting her first collegiate goal against St. Norbert on Oct. 26, before recording her first collegiate two-goal game the following day against Marian. … Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) and Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.) also scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform during Saint Mary's season-opening weekend — Chrastka's and Budensiek's coming against St. Norbert on Oct. 26, with Sheridan finding the back of the net the following day against Marian. … Chrastka added her second goal of the season against Marian on Oct. 27. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) has had a hand in five of the Cardinals' 10 goals this season — scoring once and assisting on four others. … Zebro and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) own the Cardinals' game-winning goals. … Moser heads into the Cardinals' conference series against Augsburg with a team-best five points (1 G, 4 A), one more than Chrastka (2 G, 2 A). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) stopped 23 of the 26 shots she faced in the Cardinals' season-opening 6-3 win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26 … Keeley heads into this weekend's games against Augsburg owning a 1.35 goals-against-average and .944 save percentage, while Ziakas has a 3.00 GAA and .885 save percentage. … 
Five of the Cardinals' 10 goals this season have come in the third period, while six of the eight goals Saint Mary's has allowed have come in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's has scored the game's first goal in two of its four contests this season — Budensiek scored at 7:06 of the second period in the Cardinals' 6-3 win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26, while Zebro scored at 7:39 of the opening period against Marian. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3, season-opening win over St. Norbert equaled their single-game season high from a year ago. … With their 6-3 season-opening win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last four seasons. … Thanks to their 6-3 win over St. Norbert and 4-0 victory over Marian, the Cardinals have now swept those two teams to open each of the last three seasons.
 
Scouting The Augsburg Auggies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is just the second road game of the season for the Auggies, who have played three of their first four contests at Ed Saugestad Rink. … Last weekend's sweep of Bethel pushed the Auggies' unbeaten streak to three (2-0-1). Augsburg has not lost since opening the season with a 3-1 setback against St. Scholastica to open the season on Oct. 26. … Augsburg's six goals in last Friday's 6-2 win over Bethel came from six different players — Nikki Nightengale, Megan Johnson, Bridget Wagner, Bridget Walter, Mikayla Jones, and Bailey Beane. … Mackenzie Molnar led the way for Augsburg in its rematch with Bethel last Saturday, recording her first collegiate hat trick, with Wagner, Nightengale, and Johnson all scoring for the second straight game. … Along with her goal, Wagner also recorded three assists in last Saturday's 6-0 win over the Royals. … All three of Molnar's goals vs. Bethel last Saturday were on the power play. … Molnar and Nightengale share the team lead with three goals each, one more than Wagner and Johnson. … Wagner is the team's assist lead with four, followed by Molnar (3) and Jeanette Bealke (3), while Molnar and Wagner share the team lead with six points apiece. … Nightengale and Wagner own the Auggies' two game-winning goals, while Hollywood Hermanson has the team's lone game-tying goal. … Annie Juergens and McKenna Manalli have shared the goaltending duties for the Auggies this season, with both goalies making two starts. … Juergens — who notched her fifth collegiate shutout with a 17-save effort against Bethel last Saturday — owns a 0.96 goals-against-average and .935 save percentage, while Manalli boasts a 2.58 GAA and .828 save percentage in her two starts. … Juergens has made a team-leading 29 saves, five more than Manalli. … Augsburg has outscored its opponents 15-7 — including 5-1 in the first period and 6-2 in the second. … The Auggies have scored the game's first goal in each of its first four games.