By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to the St. Thomas Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against the Tommies.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC, 0-2-0 Overall) at #15 St. Thomas Tommies (0-0-0 MIAC, 2-0-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 26-27, 2018 * Blaine, Minn.: The Cardinals dropped both of their games at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, surrendering a pair of power-play goals in a 3-1 loss to Gustavus last Friday, before allowing the game-winning goal three minutes into overtime in falling to Concordia 4-3 the following day | GAC Recap * CC Recap
• St. Thomas—October 26-27, 2018 * Blaine, Minn.: The Tommies picked up a pair of season-opening wins at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, edging Saint John's 3-2 on Friday, before topping Bethel 5-4 the following day | SJU Recap * BU Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
• November 3, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's fans were hoping for some heat from the Cardinals in their home- and conference-opener against rival St.  Thomas. And the Cardinals did not disappoint, dropping the Tommies in a decisive 4-1 decision at Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• November 4, 2017 * Mendota Heights, Minn.: For the fourth time in as many games, Saint Mary's limited its opponent to just one goal. And thanks to a late third-period goal, a shootout tally by Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) — and a second-straight 25-save effort from Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) — the Cardinals parlayed that one goal allowed into two more Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference points, tying St. Thomas 1-1 and earning the extra conference point by scoring the only goal in the shootout at St. Thomas Ice Arena | Recap

Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Tommies head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against St. Thomas 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. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals at the MIAC Hockey Showcase last weekend, scoring a goal in both games, while Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) accounted for the Cardinals' other two goals. … Sikich's goal against Concordia last Saturday was the first of his collegiate career. … Meeh picked up assists in both of the Cardinals' games last week and shares the team lead in points (2) with Stang. … Saint Mary's had seven freshmen make their collegiate debuts last weekend at the MIAC Hockey Showcase. … The Cardinals used two different goalies in their two MIAC Hockey Showcase games last weekend. Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made 35 saves in Saint Mary's 3-1 loss to Gustavus last Friday, while Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) finished with 23 saves in the 4-3 overtime loss to Concordia the following day. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist on Stang's goal against Gustavus last Friday — heads into this weekend's games against St. Thomas with a 2.01 goals-against-average and a .946 save percentage. Rogers, meanwhile, boasts a 3.80 GAA and .852 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored two of its four goals in the third period. Saint Mary's opponents, meanwhile, have scored five of their seven goals in the game's third stanza.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2018 Roster | 2018 Statistics | 2018 Schedule
• The Tommies head into their MIAC-opening weekend against Saint Mary's ranked No. 15 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … The Tommies opened the season with a pair of wins at the MIAC Hockey Showcase — with both victories by one goal. UST beat Saint John's 3-2 and followed that up with a 5-4 victory against Bethel. … St. Thomas' eight goals on the weekend came from eight different players, while 14 Tommies recorded at least one point. … Colton Berg, Luke Radetic, and Broydon Stufko netted UST's three goals against Saint John's last Friday, while Jake Ahlgren, Elijah Latimer, Tanner Barnes, and John Peterson found the back of the net against Bethel. … Gavin Payne collected a team-best three assists at the MIAC Hockey Showcase and shares the team lead in points (3) with Ahlgren, who added two assists to his one goal. … Two of St. Thomas' eight goals came on the power-play. On the flip side, UST's two Showcase opponents netted two of their six goals with the man advantage. … Andrew Rohkohl and Cam Buggrabe split the goaltending duties, with Rohkohl stopping 33 shots in the Tommies' win over Saint John's, while Buggrabe made 19 saves in UST's victory over Bethel. … St. Thomas scored three goals in both the first and second periods at the MIAC Hockey Showcase, while adding a pair of third-period goals. The Tommies' opponents netted three of their six goals in the opening period, adding one second-period tally and a pair of goals in the third period.