By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against St. Olaf on Friday, as the Cardinals head to the Northfield Ice Arena for a 7:30 p.m. matchup against the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-6-3 MIAC, 8-11-4 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (5-7-2 MIAC, 8-11-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 9-10, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals split their two conference games against Hamline last weekend—with both teams winning on the road. Saint Mary's opened with a 4-2 victory over the Pipers at the Minnesota Wild TRIA Rink on Friday, with HU returning the favor with a 4-3 win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena the following evening | HU Recap 1 * HU Recap 2
• St. Olaf—February 9-10, 2018 * Blaine, Minn./Northfield, Minn.: The Oles collected four conference points in their two-game conference series against Bethel last weekend. St. Olaf battled the Royals to a scoreless tie last Friday at the Schwan's Super Rink, while rebounding with a 9-1 rout the following night at the Northfield Ice Arena | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf—A Year Ago:
• November 18, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: Two years ago, in his first season with the Cardinals, Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick in a 5-3 Saint Mary's win over St. Olaf. A year later, Cesarz scored a goal and added an assist in a 4-4 tie between the two teams. Friday evening, the Cardinal junior was once again feasting on Ole goaltending, scoring a pair of goals to lead Saint Mary's to a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• November 19, 2016 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals decided to veer away from the nail-biting norm in their conference rematch with the Oles, scoring single goals in all three periods—and riding the shutout goaltending of Phil Heinle (York, Pa.)—en route to a 3-0, sweeping-clinching win at the Northfield Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Oles head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the second game of their regular season-ending conference series on Saturday. Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.
 
MIAC Playoff Picture:
• The MIAC has already handed out three of its five MIAC Playoff invitations to Saint John's (10-4-0), St. Thomas (9-4-1), and Augsburg (9-5-0), leaving Gustavus (8-6-0, 24 points), Concordia (6-7-1, 20 points), Saint Mary's (5-6-3, 19 points), and St. Olaf (5-7-2, 18 points) to battle for the two remaining post-season berths. Put in simplest terms, for the Cardinals to qualify for this year's MIAC Playoffs, they must out-point Concordia and St. Olaf over the teams' final two games.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Last Saturday's 4-3 loss to Hamline snapped the Cardinals' seven-game unbeaten streak (5-0-2). … Friday's game against St. Olaf is the eighth road game in the last 10 contests for the Cardinals, who played nine of their first 13 games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Saint Mary's is 3-7-2 on its home ice, while going 5-4-2 on the road this season. … Saint Mary's four-game winning streak, which ended with a 4-4 tie against Bethel on Feb. 2, was the Cardinals' longest of the season. … Ten of the Cardinals' 22 games—including five of their last six—have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals have 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.) and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) each scored goals in both games against Hamline last weekend, while Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), and Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) accounted for the other three. … Both of Robertson's goals vs. Hamline last weekend were the first of the game. … Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) finished with three assists vs. the Pipers last weekend—he was the only Cardinal with more than one helper on the weekend. … With his third-period goal last Friday and first-period assist on Saturday, Walz has now recorded at least one point in nine straight games. The senior has 13 points (5 G, 8 A) during that nine-game span. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) was held off the scoresheet last 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. … Meeh heads into this weekend's games against St. Olaf leading the team in goals with eight, one more than Johnson and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), and two in front of Walz and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.). … Walz is the team-leader in assists (12) and points (18). … Walz is one of nine Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Johnson (15), Meeh (14), Jack Stang (14), Jay Heinle (York, Pa. / 14), Robertson (12), Cesarz (10), Wasell (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 16 power play goals—including four from Meeh and three from both Johnson and Wasell. … 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.) has started 17 of the team's 23 games in goal, compiling a 3.29 goals-against-average and .882 save percentage. … Davis 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. … 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 against UW-Stout on Jan. 19, stopping 28 Blue Devils shots. … Nast (4.23 GAA, .870 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 on Feb. 3 was their fifth overtime game of the season. Along with their 4-4 and 3-3 ties against Bethel on Feb. 2-3, 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 26 its 64 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 25-16 in the first period and 28-22 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 6-4-2 when scoring first, while going 2-7-2 when its opponent scores the game's opening goal.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's was the final home game of the regular-season for the Oles, who finished 5-6-1 on their home ice, while heading into Saturday's finale just 3-5-2 away from the Northfield Ice Arena. … St. Olaf's 9-1 win over Bethel last Saturday snapped its three-game winless streak (0-2-1). … The Oles' nine goals against the Royals last Saturday were a season-high. St. Olaf has now scored four or more goals in five of its eight wins. … St. Olaf has scored three goals in its other three wins this season—all 3-1 victories. … Jude Hull stopped all 30 shots he faced in the Oles' 0-0 tie against Bethel last Friday, while Tobias Gabrielsen and Chris Koziel each scored two goals to lead the Oles' nine-goal onslaught in their 9-1 win the following night. Roshen Jaswal, Drew Otto, Judd Loewenstein, Charlie Widmar, and Carter Lukenda accounted for the Oles' other five goals in the 9-1 win. … Otto, Koziel, and Gordon Wells head into this weekend's games against Saint Mary's leading the team with eight goals each, while Tuukka Totro boasts a team-high 12 assists, and Otto has amassed a team-high 18 points. … St. Olaf has three players with 10 or more assists—Totro (12), Otto (10), and Widmar (10)—while Otto is one of seven Oles with 10 or more points. Totro (17), Jaswal (15), Gabrielsen (13), Koziel (11), and Wells (10) are the others. … Gabrielsen, Koziel, and Sawyer Jacobson have all netted a team-best two game-winning goals. … The Oles have netted 19 power-play goals this season—led by Koziel with five and Wells with four—Jacobson has tallied two of the team's four shorthanded goals. … Hull and Eric Hancock have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Hancock recording a 3.34 goals-against-average and .907 save percentage in 12 starts, while Hull boasts a 3.13 GAA and .905 save percentage in 11 starts. … Hull has made a team-best 335 saves, two more than Hancock. … St. Olaf has been outscored 27-7 in the first period this season. … The Oles have scored first in nine of their 22 games, going 5-4-0. St. Olaf is 3-7-2 when its opponent scores first. … The Oles have played five overtime games this season—the last three ending in ties. St. Olaf lost to Hamline 4-3 in the teams' season-opener on Oct. 27, while beating UW-Stout 6-5 on Jan. 5. Since then, STO has tied UW-River Falls (3-3), Hamline (2-2), and Bethel (0-0).