By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, hosting Saint Benedict in the first of two games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-4-0 MIAC, 2-5-0 Overall) vs. Saint Benedict Bennies (1-2-1 MIAC, 2-3-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—November 20, 2018 * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Cardinals surrendered a goal in the first 25 seconds and one in the last 32 seconds of the second period in falling to No. 10 UW-Eau Claire at Hobbs Ice Arena | Recap
• Saint Benedict—November 16-17, 2018 * Northfield, Minn./St. Cloud, Minn.: The Bennies picked up a win and a tie in their two-game conference series against St. Olaf, posting a 2-1 win at the Northfield Ice Arena on Nov. 16, before battling the Oles to a 1-1 overtime tie the following day at Dave Torrey Arena | St. Olaf Recap 1 * St. Olaf Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
• December 1, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored a pair of goals to ignite a season-high six-goal offensive performance, as the Cardinals rolled to a 6-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Saint Benedict at Dave Torrey Ice Arena | Recap
• December 2, 2017 * St. Cloud, Minn.: Less than 24 hours after erupting for a season-high six goals in a 6-2 win over Saint Benedict, Saint Mary's was limited to just a pair of goals in the teams' rematch. And two goals was enough for the Cardinals to complete the conference sweep. Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored with 12 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over Saint Benedict at Dave Torrey Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Bennies return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Benedict is just the third home game for the Cardinals, who played five of their first seven games away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … The Cardinals' 3-0 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 marked the fourth time in the last six games that the outcome was decided by shutout. … Saint Mary's game against 10^th-ranked UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 marked the third straight game against a nationally ranked opponent — Saint Mary's played a pair of games against No. 9 St. Thomas on Nov. 9-10. … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) scored both of the Cardinals' goals in their 3-2 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 16, while Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's lone goal in its 4-1 setback vs. the Auggies in the teams' rematch the following day. … With her two goals against Augsburg on Nov. 16, Ryan now owns three career two-goal games. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) — who assisted on Wallraff's goal vs. Augsburg on Nov. 17 — 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 six of the Cardinals' 13 goals this season — scoring once and assisting on five others. … Zebro and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) own the Cardinals' two game-winning goals. … Moser heads into the Cardinals' conference showdown against Saint Benedict with a team-best six points (1 G, 5 A), two more than Chrastka (2 G, 2 A) and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn. / 1 G, 3 A). … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) finished with a season-high 39 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 — including 20 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) finished with a career-high 29 saves in Saint Mary's 4-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 17. … Keeley has now made 20 or more saves in each of her last three starts — 28 and 24 against St. Thomas, and 29 vs. Augsburg. … Keeley had stopped all 16 shots she faced in recording her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — against Marian on Oct. 27. … 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 Friday's matchup against Saint Benedict owning a 2.05 goals-against-average and .924 save percentage, while Ziakas has a 3.00 GAA and .885 save percentage and Corcoran boasts a 3.03 GAA and .914 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored five goals in both the second and third periods to account for 10 of their 13 goals this season. On the flip side, Saint Mary's opponents have netted 10 of their 18 goals in the game's final 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's has scored first in both of its wins — Budensiek scored at 7:06 of the second period in the Cardinals' 6-3 win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26 and Zebro scored at 7:39 of the opening period against Marian — while the Cardinals are 0-5-0 when their opponent scores first. … 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 Saint Benedict Bennies:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• This weekend's games at Saint Mary's are the final games before the semester break. Following Saturday's rematch, CSB does not play again until Jan. 4-5, when the Bennies travel to Stevens Point, Wis., to take part in the UW-Stevens Point Tournament. … CSB's 2-1 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 16 snapped the Bennies' season-high three-game losing streak. … Saint Benedict has held its opponents to just one goal in both of its wins — beating Chatham 5-1 and St. Olaf 2-1. … Saint Benedict has scored just a combined four goals in its three losses this season — and has been outscored 17-4 in those three contests. … Julia Pias and Riley Schneider scored CSB's goals in its 2-1 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 16, while Pias netted the game-tying goal in the teams' 1-1 tie the following day. … Pias, Schneider, Courtney Conlin, and Maddie Dockry all share the team lead with two goals each. … Conlin, Schneider, Pias, and Annika Brodt are the team's assist leaders with two, while Conlin, Schneider, and Pias share the team lead in points with four, one more than Dockry and Brodt. … Conlin owns both of the Bennies' special teams goals — one power play and one shorthanded. … Schneider and Reegan Petnode have accounted for the Bennies' two game-winning goals. … Kailee Medved has appeared in five games in goal this season — including four starts — and boasts a 2.11 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage. … Julia Carle has made the other two starts between the pipes, owning a 6.05 GAA and .861 save percentage. … Medved has amassed 114 saves in five games, while Carle has stopped 68 shots in her two appearances. … Saint Benedict has scored six of its 12 goals in the second period. The Bennies have been outscored 9-4 in the first period and 5-2 in the third. … The Bennies' 1-1 tie against St. Olaf on Nov. 17 was their first overtime game of the season. … CSB has scored first just once in its first six games, beating Chatham 5-1 in its season-opener on Oc. 26. The Bennies are 1-3-1 when their opponent scores the game's first goal.