WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team concludes its regular-season schedule Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-6-3 MIAC, 9-11-4 Overall) at St. Olaf Oles (5-8-2 MIAC, 8-12-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program | Senior Salute (PDF * HTML)
 
Last Night:
• February 16, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: Ben Owen (Allen, Texas) scored the game-winner 3:38 into the third period, as the Cardinals kept their MIAC Playoff hopes alive—and eliminated the Oles from post-season contention—with a 3-2 conference win at the Northfield Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saturday's game is the regular-season finale for both the Cardinals and the Oles.
 
MIAC Playoff Picture:
• The MIAC has already handed out four of its five MIAC Playoff invitations to Saint John's (10-4-0), St. Thomas (9-4-1), Augsburg (9-5-0), and Gustavus (9-6-0), leaving Saint Mary's (6-6-3, 22 points) and Concordia (6-8-1, 20 points) to battle for the final post-season berths. Saint Mary's heads into its final game of the regular-season needing at least as many points against St. Olaf as Concordia gets in its rematch with Augsburg to secure an MIAC Playoff berth.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Saturday's game against St. Olaf is the final home game for the Cardinals' 13 graduating seniors—Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio), Nick Turner (Villa Rica, Ga.), Ben Owen (Allen, Texas), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), Michael Cimba (Willmette, Ill.), Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.), Chris Wilhite (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), Mike Amelio (Venetia, Pa.), Jay Heinle (York, Pa.), Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.), and Johnny Morales (Torrance, Calif.). … With their 3-2 win over St. Olaf Friday, the Cardinals improved to 6-1-2 in their last nine games—including a 5-0-2 run that was snapped with a 4-3 loss to Hamline last Saturday. … The Cardinals closed out the road portion of their schedule with a 6-4-2 record, Saint Mary's is 3-7-2 on its home ice 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. … Eleven of the Cardinals' 24 games—including six of their last seven—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. …
Wasell, Cesarz, and Owen scored the Cardinals' three goals in Friday's 3-2 win over St. Olaf. … With his third-period assist on Owen's goal against St. Olaf Friday, Walz has now recorded at least one point in 10 straight games. The senior has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) during that 10-game span. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) recorded his first collegiate three-point game (1 G, 2 A) vs. Bethel on Feb. 2. … Meeh heads into Saturday's rematch against St. Olaf leading the team in goals with eight, one more than Johnson, Cesarz, and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.). … Walz is the team-leader in assists (13) and points (19). … Walz is one of 10 Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Johnson (17), Meeh (14), Jack Stang (14), Heinle (14), Dylan Robertson (Anchorage, Alaska / 12), Cesarz (11), Wasell (11), Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska / 10), and Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio / 10). … Jack Stang and Owen have scored a pair of game-winning goals, with Heinle, Johnson, Cummings, Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), and Wasell have accounting for the Cardinals' other five 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 18 of the team's 24 games in goal, compiling a 3.21 goals-against-average and .883 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 15-1-2 in the last 18 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 27 of its 67 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 26-18 in the first period and 29-22 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 7-4-2 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 5-7-1 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 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. … Drew Otto scored both of the Oles' goals in Friday's 3-2 loss to Saint Mary's. … With his two goals against Saint Mary's, Otto moved into the team lead with 10 goals, two more than Chris Koziel and Gordon Wells. … Tuukka Totro boasts a team-high 12 assists, two more than Otto, Tobias Gabrielsen, and Charlie Widmar. … Otto has amassed a team-high 20 points and is one of seven Oles with 10 or more points. Totro (17), Roshen Jaswal (15), Gabrielsen (14), Widmar (14), 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—while Sawyer 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 3.12 GAA and .903 save percentage in 12 starts. … Hull has made a team-best 353 saves, with Hancock close behind with 333. … Hull stopped all 30 shots he faced in the Oles' 0-0 tie against Bethel on Feb. 9. … St. Olaf has been outscored 29-8 in the first period this season. … The Oles have scored first in nine of their 23 games, going 5-4-0. St. Olaf is 3-8-2 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).