By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Hamline on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain the Pipers in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-5-3 MIAC, 8-10-4 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (3-8-2 MIAC, 8-12-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Night:
• February 9, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals used a pair of two-goal periods to hand Hamline a 4-2 conference setback at the Minnesota Wild TRIA Rink | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• January 20, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's scored three unanswered goals—erasing an early 1-0 Hamline lead—cruising to a 3-1 victory over the Pipers at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 21, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Pipers scored four times in the second period alone in cruising to a 7-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over the Cardinals at Oscar Johnson Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in MIAC play next weekend with a pair of games against St. Olaf. Saint Mary's heads to the Northfield (Minn.) Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Oles on Friday, before the two teams head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the 7 p.m. rematch the following day.
• Hamline: The Pipers close out regular-season play next weekend with a pair of games against St. Thomas. HU heads to the Tommies' St. Thomas Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup next Friday, before return to the Minnesota Wild TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for the 7 p.m. rematch the following evening.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• With their 4-2 win over Hamline Friday, the Cardinals remain one point behind Concordia for the fifth and final MIAC Playoff berth, while trailing fourth-place Gustavus by two points. … Friday's game against Hamline was the seventh road game in the last nine contests for the Cardinals, who played nine of their first 13 games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 4-2 win over Hamline Friday, the Cardinals pushed their unbeaten streak to seven straight (5-0-2). … Saint Mary's four-game winning streak, which ended with a 4-4 tie against Bethel on Feb. 2, was the Cardinals' longest win streak of the season. … Nine of the Cardinals' 21 games—including four of their last five—have been decided by one goal or less. … With last weekend's 4-4 and 3-3 decisions vs. Bethel, the Cardinals have now recorded four ties this season—the most since the 2000-01 season, when Saint Mary's also played to four ties. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.), Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.), and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) scored Saint Mary's four goals vs. Hamline Friday. … With his third-period goal, Walz has now recorded at least one point in eight straight games. The senior has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) during that eight-game span. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) was held off the scoresheet Friday, snapping his point-scoring streak at seven consecutive games. … Meeh recorded his first collegiate three-point game (1 G, 2 A) vs. Bethel on Feb. 2.  … With his two goals against Bethel last weekend, Meeh moved into the team lead with eight goals, one more than Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), and two in front of Johnson and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.). Walz is the team-leader in assists (11) and points (17). … Walz is one of eight Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Johnson, Jack StangJay Heinle (York, Pa. / 14), Meeh (13), Jack Stang (14), Johnson (14), Robertson (11), Cesarz (10), and Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio / 10). … Jack Stang has scored a pair of game-winning goals, with Heinle, Johnson, Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), Wasell, and Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) accounting for the Cardinals' other six game-winning goals. … Saint Mary's has scored 14 power play goals—including four from Meeh and three from Johnson. … Cesarz and Johnson own the Cardinals' two shorthanded goals. … Saint Mary's boasts four players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season—Jack Stang, Tommy Stang, Owen, and Luke Seper (Lakeville, Minn.). … 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 on Nov. 11 was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.), who made 20 saves in Friday's 4-2 win over Hamline Friday, stopped all 31 shots he faced against Gustavus on Jan. 26 en route to 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 16 of the team's 22 games in goal, compiling a 3.19 goals-against-average and .886 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' 3-3 tie against Bethel last Saturday was their fifth overtime game of the season. Along with their ties against Bethel last weekend, the Cardinals battled St. Thomas to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 4, and tied Lawrence 2-2 on Dec. 6, before falling to Concordia 5-4 on Jan. 12. The Cardinals played eight OT games a year ago, going 1-4-3. … Saint Mary's seven goals in 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 14-1-2 in the last 17 games in which they limit their opponent to two goals or less. … With their 1-0 win over Gustavus on Jan. 26, 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. … 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 25 its 58 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 24-15 in the first period and 26-21 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 6-3-2 when scoring first, while going 2-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal.
 
Scouting The Hamline Pipers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• After having their two-game winning streak and four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1) snapped with a 5-4 loss to Bethel on Jan. 27, the Pipers have now dropped two straight. … Hamline's last five games have all been decided by two goals or less—including three decided by one goal or less. … Chad Hennum and Russ Jordan scored the Pipers' two goals vs. Saint Mary's on Friday. … Hennum put together a three-point night vs. Bethel on Jan. 27, adding two assists to his third-period goal. … Hamline enters Saturday's game Saint Mary's boasting two players—Mitch McPherson (14) and Jordan (12)—with 10 or more goals this season. … Jesse Kessler owns a team-best 14 assists, while Jordan is the team's points leader with 22. … Jordan is one of five HU players with 10 or more points—Mitch McPherson (19), Kessler (16), Brandon Reinholz (13), and Jaycob McCombs (11) are the others. … Sixteen different players have accounted for Hamline's 62 goals this season, while 22 of the 25 players who have seen ice time have recorded at least one point. … McPherson has put together three two-goal games this season, while Wendorf has scored a pair of goals in a game twice, and Jordan has achieved the feat once. … Six of McPherson's team-leading 14 goals have come on the power play. … HU has netted 14 power-play goals through 22 games, while adding six shorthanded tallies—including a team-leading two from Jordan. … Evan Robert finished with 30 saves against Saint Mary's Friday in his team-leading 11^th start of the season. … Robert owns a team-leading 2.82 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage, while Justin Quale is close behind with a 3.80 GAA and .879 save % in 10 starts. … Robert has made 296 saves in his 11 starts, 35 more than Quale. … Robert owns the team's lone shutout, stopping all 25 shots in the Pipers 5-0 win over St. Olaf on Jan. 19. … The Pipers hold a 22-19 scoring advantage in the first period, but HU has been outscored 24-19 in the second period and 34-19 in the third. … The Pipers have allowed four goals or more 10 times this season. … Hamline scored—and allowed—a season-high seven goals in a 7-7 tie with Concordia on Dec. 9. … Hamline has been held to two goals or less in nine of its 12 losses. … HU is 1-0-2 in overtime games this season—beating St. Olaf 4-3, while tying Concordia (7-7) and St. Olaf (2-2). … The Pipers have scored first in 12 of their 22 games, going 5-5-2. HU is 3-7-0 when its opponent scores first.