By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to the National Hockey Center for the first of two games against Saint John's. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-3-1 MIAC, 0-8-2 Overall) at Saint John's Johnnies (3-1-0 MIAC, 5-3-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 23-24, 2018 * Lake Forest, Ill.: The Cardinals played a pair of nonconference games decided by one goal or less last weekend at Alumni Memorial Arena, falling to Lake Forest 2-1 last Friday, before rallying from a 4-2 deficit for a 4-4 tie in the rematch the following afternoon | LF Recap 1 * LF Recap 2
• Saint John's—November 23-24, 2018 * St. Cloud, Minn.: The Johnnies dropped a 3-2 decision to Concordia (Wis.) last Friday, while settling for a 1-1 tie against Marian the following afternoon. Both games were played at the National Hockey Center | CUW Recap * Marian Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. John's — A Year Ago:
• October 28, 2017 * Blaine, Minn.: Saint John's goalie Mac Berglove stopped all 30 Cardinal shots he faced in leading SJU to a 1-0 victory over Saint Mary's in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
• December 1, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: The first time Saint Mary's squared off against Saint John's, the two teams combined for one goal in a 1-0 SJU victory at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase in late October. They doubled that offensive output in the opening 20 minutes of their conference showdown at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Johnnies doing the doubling—and then some — as Saint John's erupted for seven goals in dealing Saint Mary's a 7-0 MIAC setback | Recap
• December 2, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Coming off a 7-0 loss to the Johnnies in the opening game of their two-game MIAC series — not to mention falling to SJU 1-0 in their season-opening meeting at the MIAC Hockey Showcase — the Cardinals entered the rematch without a goal in six straight periods against Saint John's. Unfortunately, while they were not shut out for a third straight time against SJU, the Cardinals would manage just one goal—a second-period tally by Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.) — as the Johnnies dealt Saint Mary's a 4-1 conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Johnnies return to the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint John's is the third of four straight road games for the Cardinals, who play 10 of their first 12 contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With last weekend's 2-1 loss and 4-4 tie against Lake Forest, nine of the Cardinals' first 10 games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including six decided by one goal or less and four that have gone into overtime. … Last Saturday's 4-4 tie against Lake Forest snapped the Cardinals' four-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's four goals against the Foresters last Saturday were a season high — and equaled its combined offensive output during its four-game losing streak. … Six of Saint Mary's first 10 opponents have been nationally ranked — including a 3-2 loss to No. 1 UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 9. Two of SMU's other four opponents — Concordia and Gustavus — both qualified for the MIAC Playoffs a year ago. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) collected his first collegiate two-goal game with a pair of tallies 25 seconds apart in last Saturday's 4-4 tie against Lake Forest. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) picked up a goal in both games against Lake Forest, while Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) accounted for the Cardinals' other goal in last Saturday's 4-4 tie. … Saint Mary's boasts a pair of players who put together three-game goal-scoring streaks this season. Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) had his three-game run snapped against Augsburg last Friday night, while Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) had his three-game streak ended against No. 10 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 10. … 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. … Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) have also scored their first collegiate goals this season. Stoynich netted his first goal in a Cardinal uniform against Augsburg on Nov. 16, while Sikich found the back of the net against Concordia on Oct. 27. … Liverance and Tommy Stang head into heads into this weekend's games against Saint John's owning the team lead in goals with four each, one more than Meeh and DiBacco. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.), who posted back-to-back two-assist games against St. Thomas on Nov. 3 and UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 9, leads the team with five helpers, one more than Jack Stang. … Liverance is the team-leader in points with seven, followed by Tommy Stang (6), Meeh (5), and Robertson (5). … Saint Mary's has netted six power-play goals this season — led by Hatton and Tommy Stang with two each. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who finished with a combined 50 saves in his two starts in goal against Lake Forest last weekend — has made 30 or more saves in three of his seven starts this season. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist on Stang's goal against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into Saint Mary's showdown against Saint John's on Friday with a 2.80 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) — who finished with a season- and career-high 43 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 10 — boasts a 3.61 GAA and .897 save percentage. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 of its 20 goals in the third period. On the flip side, the Cardinals have surrendered 33 goals through 10 games — including 12 in the second period and 13 in the third stanza. … The Cardinals have scored six in five of their 10 games, but are 0-4-2 in those six contests. Saint Mary's is 0-4-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Last Saturday's 4-4 tie against Lake Forest was the Cardinals' fourth overtime game of the season.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth of five straight home games for the Johnnies, who are 3-1-2 on their home ice this season. … Last Friday's 3-2 loss to Concordia (Wis.) snapped the Johnnies' two-game winning streak. … Two of Saint John's three losses have been by one goal — with both decided by a 3-2 decision. SJU's other loss this season was a 4-1 setback against Hamline on Nov. 9. … Saint John's 1-1 tie against Marian last Saturday was its second overtime game of the season — with both ending in ties. Along with their 1-1 stalemate against Marian, the Johnnies also battled UW-River Falls to a 2-2 tie on Nov. 2. … Robb Stautz and Matt Colford scored SJU's two goals in last Friday's 3-2 loss to Concordia (Wis.), while Brady Heppner tallied the Johnnies' lone goal in their 1-1 tie vs. Marian the following day. … Heppner and Evan Okeley share the team lead in goals with four each, one more than Colford, Stautz, Kyle Wagner, Joe Chitwood, and Davis Kirkendall. … Colford shares the team lead in assists with Jake Dittel, while leading the team with eight points. … Saint John's 31 goals have come from 13 different players, while 20 Johnnies have recorded at least one point through 10 games. … SJU has netted nine power-play goals this year, with Stautz leading the way with three PP tallies. … Chitwood owns a team-best two game-winning goals. … Andrew Lindgren and Mac Berglove have shared the goaltending duties this season. Lindgren has amassed a 1.82 goals-against-average and .929 save percentage in six starts, while Berglove owns a 2.24 GAA and .913 save percentage in four starts. … Lindgren has made a team-leading 143 saves, while Berglove has stopped 94 of the 103 shots he's faced. … SJU has been outscored 6-5 in the first period, but the Johnnies own 14-6 and 12-8 scoring advantages in the second and third periods, respectively. … Saint John's has scored first in six of its 10 games, going 4-1-1. The Johnnies are 1-2-1 when their opponent scores first.