By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Hamline on Friday, as the Cardinals travel to the Minnesota Wild's TRIA Rink for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-3 MIAC, 7-10-4 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (3-7-2 MIAC, 8-11-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 2-3, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals battled Bethel to a pair of ties in their two MIAC games last weekend. Saint Mary's and BU skated to a 4-4 tie last Friday at the Schwan's Super Rink, before playing to a 3-3 stalemate the following evening at the Saint  Mary's Ice Arena | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
• Hamline—January 26-27, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Pipers were on their bye week last weekend and have not played since splitting conference games with Bethel two weeks ago. HU opened with a 3-1 home win over the Royals at the Minnesota Wild Tria Rink in St. Paul, Minn., only to drop the rematch 5-4 at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., the following day | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
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:
• The Cardinals and Pipers conclude their two-game conference series on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. matchup Saturday evening.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• The Cardinals head into their last four games of the regular season sitting one point behind Concordia for the fifth and final MIAC Playoff berth. … Friday's game against Hamline is 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 4-4 and 3-3 ties with Bethel last weekend, the Cardinals pushed their unbeaten streak to six straight (4-0-2). … Saint Mary's four-game winning streak, which ended with last Friday's tie against Bethel, was the Cardinals' longest win streak of the season. … Nine of the Cardinals' 21 games—including each of their last four—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. … Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) each scored goals in both games against Bethel last weekend, while Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska), Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.), and Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) accounted for the Cardinals' other three goals. … Meeh and Walz head into this weekend's games against Hamline riding seven-game point streaks. Walz has 11 points during that seven-game span (4 G, 7 A), while Meeh has amassed nine points (5 G, 4 A). … Meeh recorded his first collegiate three-point game (1 G, 2 A) vs. Bethel last Friday.  … With his two goals against Bethel last weekend, Meeh moved into the team lead with eight goals, one more than Jack Stang, and two in front of Johnson and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.). Walz is the team-leader in assists (11) and points (16). … Walz is one of seven Cardinals with 10 or more points this season—Jay Heinle (York, Pa. / 14), Meeh (13), Jack Stang (13), Johnson (13), Cesarz (10), and Jude Warner (Pickerington, Ohio / 10). … Jack Stang has scored a pair of game-winning goals, with Heinle, Stang, 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 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 on Nov. 11 was his sixth career multiple-goal game—including five two-goal showings. … Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.), who made 54 saves in two starts against Bethel last weekend, 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 15 of the team's 21 games in goal, compiling a 3.27 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' 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 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 5-3-2 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
• The Pipers' 5-4 loss to Bethel on Jan. 27 snapped their two-game winning streak and four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). … Three of HU's last four games have been decided by one goal or less. For the season, eight of the Pipers' 21 games have been one-goal decisions. … Kyle Wendorf scored three goals in Hamline's split against Bethel on Jan. 26-27, netting one of the Pipers' three goals in their 3-1 series-opening win, while scoring twice in the 5-4 loss in the rematch the following day. … Russ Jordan, Jesse Kessler, Chad Hennum, and Brandon Reinholz accounted for Hamline's other four goals vs. the Royals. … Hennum put together a three-point night vs. Bethel on Jan. 27, adding two assists to his third-period goal. … Hamline enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's boasting two players—Mitch McPherson (14) and Jordan (10)—with 10 or more goals this season. … Kessler owns a team-best 13 assists, while Jordan is the team's points leader with 21. … Jordan is one of five HU players with 10 or more points—McPherson (19), Kessler (15), Reinholz (13), and Jaycob McCombs (11) are the others. … Sixteen different players have accounted for Hamline's 60 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 21 games, while adding six shorthanded tallies—including a team-leading two from Jordan. … Evan Robert and Justin Quale have each started 10 games in goal for the Pipers. Robert owns a team-best 2.69 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage, with Quale close behind with a 3.80 GAA and .879 save %. … Robert has made 266 saves in his 10 starts, five 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 22-17 scoring advantage in the first period, but HU has been outscored 23-19 in the second period and 32-18 in the third. … The Pipers have allowed four goals or more nine 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 eight of its 11 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 21 games, going 5-5-2. HU is 3-6-0 when its opponent scores first.