BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for the second game of their two-game series against Bethel. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-7-2 MIAC, 7-11-2 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (4-7-2 MIAC, 8-10-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 2, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Bri Stafne scored 1:05 into overtime, lifting the Royals to a 3-2 MIAC win over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel—A Year Ago:
• November 11, 2016 * Blaine, Minn.: Bethel erupted for five second-period goals, erasing 1-0 and 2-1 Saint Mary's leads in handing the Cardinals a 6-2 setback in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
• November 12, 2016 * Winona, Minn.: For the second game in a row, Saint Mary's netted two goals against Bethel. This time around, however, two goals was enough to earn the Cardinals a point in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings. Jane Hannula (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored two minutes into the third period, lifting the Cardinals to a 2-2 tie against the Royals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend, squaring off against Hamline in a pair of MIAC contests. Saint Mary's hosts the Pipers in a 7 p.m. contest at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, with the two teams heading to the Minnesota Wild Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
• Bethel: The Royals return to conference action next weekend with a pair of games against Hamline. BU will head to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for Friday's 7:30 p.m. contest, before the teams head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for the rematch at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• The Cardinals' 3-2 overtime loss to Bethel marked the third straight Friday in which Saint Mary's has played an overtime game—SMU battled St. Catherine to a 3-3 tie on Jan. 19, drew with Gustavus 1-1 on Jan. 26, and fell to Bethel 3-2 last night. … After winning just once in 12 home games a year ago (1-8-3), four of the Cardinals' seven wins this season—and both of their ties—have come at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Saint Mary's had its streak of six straight games scoring three goals snapped with its 1-1 tie vs. Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Friday's 3-2 loss to Bethel was the Cardinals' fourth overtime game of the season—Saint Mary's beat Saint Benedict 2-1 on Dec. 2, and tied St. Catherine (3-3) on Jan. 19 and Gustavus (1-1) on Jan. 26. … The Cardinals last three wins have been decided by one goal—3-2 over Concordia and Lake Forest, and 2-1 over Saint Benedict. … The Cardinals' win over Concordia on Jan. 13 was their seventh of the season. Saint Mary's owned just six wins all of last year. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) and Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' two goals in Friday's 3-2 loss to Bethel. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) heads into Saturday's rematch with Bethel as the team-leader in goals (9) and points (14). … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) and Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) share the team lead in assists with nine each. … Ryan, Cwik, and Hafiz are all second to Wendt in points with 11, while Moser has 10. … Wendt has scored more goals this season (9) than she had in her first two collegiate seasons combined (5). … Ryan recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against Concordia on Jan. 12, while Wendt recorded her third collegiate multiple-goal game of the season in the rematch with the Cobbers on Jan. 13. The junior recorded her first collegiate hat trick—scoring the Cardinals' first three goals in their 5-3 win over Marian on Oct. 27. She followed that up with a pair of goals in Saint Mary's 3-1 victory over St. Norbert the following day. … Wendt's hat trick was Saint Mary's first since Henderson scored three times against Hamline on Feb. 20, 2017. … Along with her goals in both games against Lake Forest on Jan. 6-7, Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) also had an assist in each game vs. the Foresters—it was her first two multiple-point games of the season, and the 10^th and 11^th of her collegiate career. … Delaney Wolf's (Bismarck, N.D.) goal against Concordia on Jan. 13—the game-winner at 13:27 of the third period—was her first as a Cardinal. … Wolf became the third player to score her first collegiate goal this season, joining Mady Bodick (Savage, Minn.) and Lauren Rogers (Barrington, Ill.). … Moser picked up a pair of assists in the Cardinals' 3-2 win over Concordia on Jan. 13 and has now posted three two-assist games this season. … Hafiz and Cwik each recorded two-goal games against Saint Benedict on Dec. 1-2. Cwik scored twice against the Blazers on Dec. 1 to record his first multiple-goal game, while Hafiz scored both goals in Saint Mary's overtime win of the Blazers the following day. It was Hafiz's third two-goal game of her two-year collegiate career. … Ryan assisted on three of the Cardinals' six goals vs. CSB on Dec. 1 en route to her first collegiate three-point game, while Rogers added two assists to her second-period goal for her first three-point game in a Cardinal uniform. … Wendt's goal at 19:41 of the first period against Marian on Oct. 27 was the Cardinals' first goal of the season. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) stopped a season-high 42 shots in the Cardinals' 1-1 tie against Gustavus on Jan. 26 and followed that up with 36 saves in the teams' rematch the following day. … Corcoran has stopped 30 or more shots 10 times this season—including five of her last six starts. … Corcoran boasts a 2.64 goals-against-average and a .917 save percentage. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.)—who picked up the win against St. Norbert in her first collegiate start on Oct. 28, stopping 28 of the Green Knights' 29 shots—made a career-high 41 saves in the Cardinals' 6-3 loss to Lake Forest on Jan. 7. The 41-save effort was four more than Ziakas' previous career-best. … Ziakas has compiled a 3.39 GAA and .902 save percentage in her five appearances this season. … The Cardinals have scored 25 goals in their six wins this season, while managing a combined 15 goals in their 11 losses. … The Cardinals are 3-3-0 when scoring first, while going 4-8-2 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … The Cardinals erupted for a season-high six goals in their 6-2 win over Saint Benedict on Dec. 2. … Saint Mary's six goals vs. the Blazers were the most since the Cardinals scored six times in beating St. Olaf 6-3 on Nov. 17, 2016. … The Cardinals, who snapped a three-game losing streak with their 6-2 win over Saint Benedict on Dec. 1, scored more goals against the Blazers in that Dec. 1 game (6) than they had in the previous five games combined (5). … The Cardinals' 3-2 win over Lake Forest on Jan. 6 snapped a 22-game winless streak against the Foresters (0-17-5). Saint Mary's last win over Lake Forest had been a 2-0 victory on Feb. 13, 2002. … With their wins over Marian and St. Norbert in their first two games of the season, the Cardinals opened their season 2-0-0 for the second straight year—having also opened the 2016-17 season with back-to-back wins over Marian and St. Norbert. … With their win over Marian on Oct. 27, the Cardinals have now won their last three season-openers—including back-to-back victories over the Sabres each of their last two seasons. … Saint Mary's season-opening 5-3 win over Marian on Oct. 27 was the first collegiate coaching victory for the Cardinals' Greg Moore.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• Friday's OT win over Saint Mary's was just their third road victory of the season (3-6-1). … The Royals have now played four overtime games this season—falling to UW-Superior (4-3), beating Saint Mary's (3-2), and tying both Concordia (3-3) and St. Thomas (3-3). … With Friday's 3-2 win over Saint Mary's, BU has scored three or more goals in seven of their eight wins—including a season-high eight goals in a season-opening, 8-1 win over Aurora on Oct. 27. On the flip side, Bethel has allowed three or more goals in eight of their 10 losses. … Sarah Moy, Kaitlyn VanTassel, and Bri Stafne netted the Royals' three goals against Saint Mary's Friday—Stafne's coming at 1:05 of overtime. … Wendy Roberts boasts a team-leading 11 goals, one more than VanTassel. … VanTassel leads the Royals with 16 assists and 26 points. … VanTassel is one of three Royals with 10 or more assists—Kennedi Mitchell (11), Moy (10), and Stane (10) are the others. … Along with VanTassel's team-best 26 points, the Royals have seven other players—Stafne (19), Roberts (18), Moy (16), Sarina Goos (14), Mitchell (12), Bailey Thompson (11), and Erika Geary (10)—with 10 or more points. … Bethel's 61 goals have come from 14 different players, while 16 Royals have recorded at least one point. … Roberts and Moy share the team lead with two game-winning goals, while VanTassel owns the team's lone hat trick—scoring three times in the Royals' season-opening 8-1 win over Aurora. … Bethel has scored 15 power-play goals, and has netted three short-handed tallies. … Bethel has used four different goalies this season, led by Michelle Klimstra, who has compiled a 2.89 goals-against-average and .896 save percentage in 14 appearances. Maggie Straka (3.22 GAA, .891 save %) has played in five games, while Claire Blkholm (3.22 GAA, .846 save %) has appeared in four contests and Lauren Topor (0.90 GAA, .963 save %) has played in two games. … Klimstra has made a team-leading 320 saves, with Straka stopping 131. … The Royals have outscored their opponents 61-58—including 21-17 in the second period and 26-23 in the third. BU has been outscored 17-12 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Bethel is 3-3-2 when scoring first, while going 5-7-0 when the Royals' opponent nets the game's first goal.