By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team concludes its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Bethel on Saturday, as the Cardinals host the Royals in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-2 MIAC, 7-10-3 Overall) at Bethel Royals (2-10-1 MIAC, 3-18-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Night:
• February 2, 2018 * Blaine, Minn.: The Cardinals got a goal from Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) with less than five minutes remaining in regulation, as Saint Mary's rallied for a 4-4 tie against the Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in conference play next weekend with a pair of MIAC games against Hamline. Saint Mary's and HU head to the Minnesota Wild Training Center in St. Paul, Minn., for Friday's 7 p.m. matchup, before returning to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. rematch the following evening.
• Bethel: The Royals close out their 2017-18 season next weekend with a pair of conference games against St. Olaf. BU will entertain the Oles in a 7 p.m. matchup next Friday at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., before the two teams head to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for the 7:30 p.m. rematch the following evening.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• Friday's game at Bethel was 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. … With their 4-4 tie against Bethel Friday night, the Cardinals pushed their unbeaten streak to five straight (4-0-1). … Saint Mary's four-game winning streak, which ended with Friday's tie, was the Cardinals' longest win streak of the season. … Eight of the Cardinals' 20 games—including each of their last three—have been decided by one goal or less. … Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), and Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) accounted for the Cardinals' four goals against Bethel Friday. … Cummings has now recorded eight points—four goals and four assists—and at least one point in all six games he's played in since returning from injury. … Meeh and Walz also head into Saturday's rematch with Bethel riding six-game point streaks. … Meeh recorded his first collegiate three-point game (1 G, 2 A) vs. Bethel Friday, while Cummings and Johnson each had a goal and an assist vs. the Royals Friday. … Meeh and Jack Stang head into Saturday's game against Bethel owning a team-best seven goals—one more than Johnson and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and two in front of Jay Heinle (York, Pa). … Walz is the team-leader in assists (10), and Walz and Heinle share the team lead in points with 14 each. … … Heinle and Walz are two of seven Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Jack Stang (13), Johnson (13), Meeh (11), Cesarz (10), and Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio). … 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 12 power play goals—three from Meeh and Johnson, two Cesarz, and Wasell, and one each from Walz and Warner. … 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 against Gustavus on Jan. 26. The senior also made 31 saves in his first collegiate shutout—also against Gustavus—on Feb. 4, 2017. … Davis has started 14 of the team's 20 games in goal, compiling a 3.31 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 4-4 tie against Bethel Friday was their four overtime game of the season. Saint Mary's 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 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 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 23 its 54 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has been outscored 22-12 in the first period and 25-19 in the second. … Saint Mary's is 5-3-1 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
• After opening the season with seven straight losses and dropping 15 of their first 16, Bethel is 2-3-1 in its last five. … With their 5-4 win over Hamline last Saturday, the Royals snapped their three-game losing streak. … The Royals have now scored as many goals in their last two games (9) than they had in their previous six (9). … Bethel has scored three of more goals in all three of its wins—as well as its tie vs. Saint Mary's Friday night. 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. … Tucker Gran, Kurtis Redding, David Becker, and Jackson Purvis netted the Royals' four goals against Saint Mary's Friday. … Purvis has now scored a goal in back-to-back games. … Purvis heads into Saturday's against Saint Mary's leading the team in all three offensive categories—goals (7), assists (7), and points (14). … Justin Bonanno and Peter Barral are second to Jackson in goals (5), while Johan Kling shares the team lead in assists (7). … BU boasts three players—Purvis (14), Berral (11), and Dallas Marvin (10)—with 10 or more points. … Bethel's 40 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 19 of the team's 22 games in goal, compiling a 3.94 goals-against-average and an .895 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 614 saves in his 19 starts (32.6 spg). … Bethel has been outscored 96-40—28-6 in the first period, 41-19 in the second, and 27-14 in the third. … Two of Bethel's three wins have come on their home ice—the Royals are just 1-12-0 away from the Schwan's Super Rink this season. … Bethel has scored first just three times this season (1-2-0), while going 2-16-1 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 thi