Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

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 the National Hockey Center on Saturday, squaring off against Saint John's in the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-3-2 MIAC, 0-8-3 Overall) at Saint John's Johnnies (3-1-1 MIAC, 5-3-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• November 30, 2018 * St. Cloud, Minn.: Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to earn the Cardinals a 3-3 overtime tie with Saint John's, while brother Tommy Stang scored the only shootout goal to help the Cardinals earn the extra conference point | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint 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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend, returning home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a pair of nonconference games against UW-Superior. Saint Mary's and UW-Superior will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday night, before returning for a 3 p.m. matinee the following day.
• Saint John's: The Johnnies are off until Saturday, when they travel to Mars Lakeview Arena in Duluth, Minn., for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against St. Scholastica.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint John's is the fourth straight road games for the Cardinals, who play 10 of their first 12 contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 3-3 tie against Saint John's on Friday, the Cardinals have now recorded back-to-back overtime ties, having battled Lake Forest to a 4-4 stalemate last Saturday. … Thanks to Friday's 3-3 deadlock, 10 of the Cardinals' first 11 games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including seven decided by one goal or less and five 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. … Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.), and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' three goals against Saint John's Friday. … Jack Stang also had an assist vs. the Johnnies Friday, while Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) picked up a pair of assists. … Tommy Stang, DiBacco, and Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) share the team lead with four goals each. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) share the team lead in assists with five each. … Tommy Stang is the team's points leader with eight (4 G, 4 A), one more than Liverance (4 G, 3 A), and two in front of Jack Stang (1 G, 5 A). … 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. … 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 Nov. 16, 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 Hatton 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. … Saint Mary's has netted seven power-play goals this season — led by Hatton, DiBacco, and Tommy Stang with two each. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) finished with 30 saves against Saint John's Friday — it was the fourth time in eight starts that Nast has made 30 or more saves in a game. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into Saint Mary's rematch against Saint John's on Saturday with a 2.79 goals-against-average and a .907 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 11 of its 23 goals in the third period. On the flip side, the Cardinals have surrendered 36 goals through 11 games — including 13 in the second period and 13 in the third stanza. … The Cardinals have scored first in six of their 11 games, but are 0-4-2 in those six contests. Saint Mary's is 0-4-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … 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.
 
Scouting The Saint John's Johnnies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Saturday's game is the fifth straight home game for the Johnnies, who are 3-1-3 at the National Hockey Center this season. … The Johnnies' 3-3 tie against Saint Mary's Friday was their second straight overtime game — with both ending in ties. SJU battled Marian to a 1-1 deadlock last Saturday. … Two of Saint John's three losses this season 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 3-3 tie against Saint Mary's Friday was its third overtime game of the season — with all three ending in ties. Along with their 3-3 tie vs. Saint Mary's Friday and their 1-1 stalemate against Marian last Saturday, the Johnnies also battled UW-River Falls to a 2-2 tie on Nov. 2. … Brady Heppner, Sean Lang, and Robb Stautz scored SJU's three goals against Saint Mary's Friday. … Heppner has now scored in back-to-back games, having netted SJU's lone goal in its 1-1 tie against Marian last Saturday. … Heppner's goal against Saint Mary's was his team-leading fifth of the season, one more than Stautz and Evan Okeley. … Kyle Wagner and Jake Dittel share the team lead in assists with six, while Wagner also boasts a team-best nine point (3 G, 6 A), one in front of Heppner (5 G, 3 A), Matt Colford (3 G, 5 A), and Joe Chitwood (3 G, 5 A). … Saint John's 34 goals have come from 14 different players, while 20 Johnnies have recorded at least one point through 11 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 1.96 goals-against-average and .923 save percentage in seven starts, while Berglove owns a 2.24 GAA and .913 save percentage in four starts. … Lindgren has made a team-leading 181 saves, while Berglove has stopped 94 of the 103 shots he's faced. … SJU owns 15-7 and 12-9 scoring advantages in the second and third periods, respectively. … Saint John's has scored first in seven of its 11 games, going 4-1-2. The Johnnies are 1-2-1 when their opponent scores first.