By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Bethel on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to the Schwan's Super Rink for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Royals.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-1 MIAC, 7-10-2 Overall) at Bethel Royals (2-10-0 MIAC, 3-18-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 26-27, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up a huge MIAC sweep of Gustavus last weekend. Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) stopped all 31 shots he faced and Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) scored the game's only goal in last Friday's 1-0 win at Don Roberts Ice Arena, while Saint Mary's scored the game's final two goals—including Jack Stang's (Mendota Heights, Minn.) game-winner midway through the third period—lifting the Cardinals to a sweep-clinching 4-3 win the following night at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | GAC Recap 1 * GAC Recap 2
• Bethel—January 26-27, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Royals split their two conference games against Hamline last weekend—with both teams winning on their home ice. Hamline handed BU a 3-1 setback at the Minnesota Wild Tria Rink, on Friday, with the Royals turning the tables with a 5-4 victory at the Schwan's Super Rink the following evening | HU Recap 1 * HU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• November 11, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) scored less than two minutes apart midway through the first period, and the Cardinals held on for a 2-1 victory over the Royals in the teams' conference opener at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• November 12, 2016 * Blaine, Minn.: Saint Mary's completed its conference-opening sweep of Bethel, getting three goals—from three different players—in the second period en route to a 4-2 win over the Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Royals head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game at Bethel is the sixth road game in the last seven contests for the Cardinals, who played nine of their first 13 games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … After snapping a season-high five-game winless streak (0-4-1) with a 5-3 win over Concordia on Jan. 13, the Cardinals have now won four straight for the first time this season. … With last Friday's 1-0 win over Gustavus, the Cardinals have now blanked the Gusties in three of their last four meetings—having posted a 3-0 shutout over GAC in the second game of their two-game series a year ago. … Seven of the Cardinals' 19 games—including both wins over Gustavus last weekend—have been decided by one goal or less. … Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against Gustavus last Friday, while Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio), Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) netted Saint Mary's four goals in its 4-3 win the following night. … Cummings has now recorded six points—at least one in all five games he's played in since returning from injury. … Meeh and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) also head into this weekend riding five-game point streaks. … Jack Stang heads into this weekend's games against Bethel owning a team-best seven goals—one more than Meeh and Cesarz, and two in front of Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) and Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.). … Walz is the team-leader in assists (10) and Heinle boasts a team-leading 14 points. … Heinle is one of five Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Walz (13), Jack Stang (12), Johnson (11), and Cesarz (10). … Jack Stang has scored a pair of game-winning goals, with Heinle, Stang, Cummings, Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) accounting for the Cardinals' other six game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored 10 power play goals—three from Meeh, two from Johnson, Cesarz, and Wasell, and one from Walz. … Cesarz and Johnson own the Cardinals' two shorthanded goals. … Saint Mary's boasts three players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Stang, Owen, and Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.). Seper netted his first goal as a Cardinals against Saint John's on Dec. 2; Stang's came against St. Thomas on Nov. 3, while Owen's was against Bethel on Oct. 29. … Walz and Cesarz each scored once and had two assists in the Cardinals' 5-3 win over Concordia on Jan. 13. It was the fourth collegiate three-point game for both Cesarz and Walz. … Walz collected assists on all three of the Cardinals' goals against Lake Forest on Nov. 24. It was the second time in his collegiate career that he has recorded three assists in a game. … Jack Stang scored two goals and added an assist in the Cardinals' 7-4 win over UW-Stout on Jan. 19. It was the second time this season the Cardinal sophomore has recorded three or more points in a game. Stang scored twice and added a pair of assists for a career-high four-point night against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. … Owen also owns a three-point game this season—his first as a Cardinal—scoring once and adding a pair of assists against Lake Forest on Nov. 25. … Cesarz's two-goal effort against UW-Eau Claire was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) stopped all 31 shots he faced in recording his second collegiate shutout. The senior also made 31 saves in his first collegiate shutout—also against Gustavus—on Feb. 4, 2017. … Davis has started 13 of the team's 19 games in goal, compiling a 3.28 goals-against-average and .884 save percentage, while Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) owns a 2.67 GAA and .904 save percentage in three appearances. … Rogers notched his first career win—in his first collegiate start—stopping 37 of the 39 shots in faced in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) collected his first collegiate win last Friday against UW-Stout, stopping 28 Blue Devils shots. … Nast (4.55 GAA, .864 save percentage) stopped a season-high 41 shots in his first collegiate start against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 11. … The Cardinals' 5-4 loss to Concordia on Jan. 12 was their third overtime game of the season—with the first two ending in ties. Saint Mary's battled St. Thomas to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 4, and tied Lawrence 2-2 on Dec. 6. The Cardinals played eight OT games a year ago, going 1-4-3. … Saint Mary's seven goals its 7-4 win over UW-Stout on Jan. 19 were a season high—and the most since netting seven in a 7-2 win over Aurora on Dec. 10. … The Cardinals are 13-1-2 in the last 16 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less. … With their 4-2 win over Lake Forest on Nov. 25, Saint Mary's snapped its season-high five-game losing streak. … Saint Mary's has scored 22 its 50 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 21-11 in the first period and 23-17 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 5-3-0 when scoring first, while going 2-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• With their 5-4 win over Hamline last Saturday, the Royals snapped their three-game losing streak. … After opening the season with seven straight losses and dropping 15 of their first 16, Bethel is 2-3 in its last five. … Bethel scored more goals in its 5-4 win over Hamline last Saturday than the Royals had in the three games combined (3) during their three-game slide. … Bethel has scored three of more goals in all three of its wins this season. On the flip side, the Royals have allowed three or more goals in 16 of their 18 losses. … Bethel's five goals in last Saturday's 5-4 win over Hamline were a season high. … Jay Paul scored the Royals' lone goal in last Friday's 3-1 loss to Hamline, while Will Reedy scored twice and Jackson Purvis, Chad Hennum, and Adam Marty netted the other three in BU's 5-4 win the following evening. … Purvis heads into this weekend's two-game conference series against Saint Mary's leading the team in all three offensive categories—goals (6), assists (7), and points (13). … Peter Barral is second to Jackson in goals (5), assists (6), and points (11). … Bethel's 36 goals this season have come from 14 different players, while 21 different Royals have recorded at least one point. … Marvin, Reedy, and Justin Bonanno have netted the Royals' three game-winning goals this season. … BU has scored 16 power-play goals, led by Marvin with four and Purvis with three. … Joe Sheppard has started 18 of the team's 21 games in goal, compiling a 3.95 goals-against-average and an .896 save percentage. Aaron Furlano (6.00 GAA, .824 save %) has appeared in four games, while Jesse Garcia (7.50 GAA, .783 save %) has played in one game. … Sheppard has amassed 588 saves in his 18 starts (32.6 spg). … Bethel has been outscored 92-36—27-5 in the first period, 39-17 in the second, and 26-14 in the third. … Two of Bethel's three wins have come on their home ice—the Royals are just 1-12 away from the Schwan's Super Rink this season. … Bethel has scored first just three times this season (1-2-0), while going 2-16-0 when its opponent scores first. … The Royals are one of just two MIAC teams—league-leading Augsburg being the other—to not have played an overtime game this season.