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 Augsburg on Saturday, as the Cardinals host the Auggies in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-1 MIAC, 0-6-1 Overall) at Augsburg Auggies (3-0-0 MIAC, 6-1-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• November 16, 2018 * Minneapolis, Minn.: Augsburg scored a pair of unanswered goals — including the game-winner on a penalty shot in overtime — as the Auggies dealt the Cardinals a 2-1 MIAC setback at Ed Saugestad Rink | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals step out of MIAC play next weekend, traveling to Alumni Memorial Arena in Lake Forest, Ill., for a pair of nonconference games against Lake Forest. Saint Mary's and the Foresters will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday, before closing out the series with a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday.
• Augsburg: The Auggies are now off until Nov. 30-Dec. 1, when they square off against St. Thomas for a pair of MIAC matchups. Augsburg and UST will take to the ice at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown on Nov. 30, before heading to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Augsburg is just the second home game for the Cardinals, who play 10 of their first 12 contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … All seven of the Cardinals' games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including four decided by one goal or less and three that have gone into overtime. … Friday's game against No. 13 Augsburg was the fifth straight game against a nationally ranked opponent for the Cardinals, who played two games vs. No. 15 St. Thomas on Nov. 2-3, and last weekend faced top-ranked UW-Stevens Point and No. 10 UW-Eau Claire. … Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) scored his first collegiate goal to account for Saint Mary's tally in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Auggies. … Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) scored goals in both of the Cardinals' games last weekend — and has scored three goals in the Cardinals' last four 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 the rematch with the Tommies on Nov. 3, as Liverance netted his third goal of the season and Hatton added his second in a Cardinal uniform. … Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) is the fourth Cardinal to net his first collegiate goal this season, finding the back of the net against Concordia on Oct. 27. … Liverance heads into Saturday's conference rematch 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 on Nov. 9 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 seven games this season — led by Hatton with two. … 
 
Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who finished with 22 saves against Augsburg on Saturday — has made 30 or more saves in three of his four 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 Saturday with a 2.45 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage. Rogers, meanwhile, boasts a 3.61 GAA and .897 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored eight of its 14 goals in the third period. On the flip side, the Cardinals have surrendered 23 goals through seven games — including 10 in the third stanza. … The Cardinals have scored first in four of their seven games, but are 0-3-1 in those four contests. 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 Friday's 2-1 win over Saint Mary's, the Auggies have now won six of their last seven games — the lone loss, a 7-3 setback to UW-River Falls on Nov. 3. … The Auggies' 2-1 win over Saint Mary's Friday marked the first time this season they have not scored three or more goals in a game. … Augsburg has netted a season-high five goals twice — beating both Hamline (5-2) and Bethel (5-0). … Augsburg allowed as many goals against UW-River Falls (7) than it has in its other six games combined (7). … Alex Rodriguez and Eric Brenk scored the Auggies' two goals against Saint Mary's Friday — with Brenk's coming on a penalty shot 1:14 into overtime. … Rodriguez enters Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's leading the Auggies with eight goals, with Chandler Madry and Austin Dollimer second with three each. … Tommy Carey is the team's assist leader with seven, while Rodriguez owns the team's points lead with 11, three more than both Madry (3 G, 5 A) and Carey (1 G, 7 A). … Augsburg's six game-winning goals have come from five different players — Brenk (2), Rodriguez, Madry, Charlie Parker, and Jake Larson. … Augsburg has netted five power play goals through seven 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 seven games. Gerasimov owns a 2.34 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage, while Nick Schmitt — who made 20 saves against Saint Mary's Friday — has not allowed just one goal in two starts, stopping 51 of the 52 shots he's faced (0.46 GAA, .941 save percentage. … 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 24-13 — including 11-1 in the third period. … The Auggies have scored first just twice through seven games — winning all three. Augsburg is 3-1-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal.