By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals entertain Hamline in the first game of the teams' two-game conference series. Game time at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7-2 MIAC, 8-11-2 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (11-2-1 MIAC, 16-3-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | GameDay Program
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 2-3, 2018 * Winona, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Cardinals earned a split in their two-game MIAC series against Bethel last weekend, falling to the Royals 3-2 in overtime at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before rebounding with a 4-2 victory in the rematch the following afternoon at the Schwan's Super Rink | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
• Hamline—February 2-3, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Pipers picked up a pair of key conference road wins last weekend at the Moorhead Sports Center, edging Concordia 4-3 in Friday's opener, before erupting for 13 goals in a 13-5 win in Saturday's rematch | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline—A Year Ago:
• February 20, 2017 * St. Paul, Minn.: Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick to spark a five-goal Saint Mary's offensive performance—the Cardinals' highest single-game effort since netting a season-high six goals in a 6-3 win over St. Olaf on Nov. 17. Unfortunately, the Pipers' offense was also shifted into overdrive, erupting for a season-high seven goals—including three by Darby Dodds—as Hamline dealt the Cardinals a 7-5 Minnesota Intercollegiate setback at Oscar Johnson Arena | Recap
• February 21, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.), coming off her first collegiate three-goal game, scored her fourth of the series with less than a minute remaining in regulation, while HU's Darby Dodds assisted on both of Hamline's first two goals as the teams skated to a 2-2 deadlock after two periods. Unfortunately, the Cardinals could not keep Dodds off the scoresheet in the third period, as she netted an empty net goal to cap the Pipers' two-goal third period and seal their 4-2 win over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Pipers head to the Minnesota Wild Training Facility in St. Paul, Minn., for Saturday's second game of the teams' two-game MIAC series. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Schedule | 2017-18 Statistics
• With last weekend's split against Bethel, the Cardinals are currently holding down the fifth and final MIAC Playoff spot, three points behind Concordia and one point in front of St. Catherine with four games to play. … Last Saturday's 4-2 win over Bethel snapped the Cardinals' five-game winless streak (0-3-2). … The Cardinals' 3-2 overtime loss to Bethel on Feb. 2 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' eight 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. … Last 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 four wins have been decided by two goals or less—4-2 vs. Bethel, 3-2 over Concordia and Lake Forest, and 2-1 over Saint Benedict. … With Friday's 4-2 win over Bethel, the Cardinals have now won eight games this season. Saint Mary's owned just six wins all of last year. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) accounted for all four goals in the Cardinals' 4-2 win over Bethel last Saturday. It was Wendt's second hat trick, and third multiple-goal game, this season. … Wendt recorded her first collegiate hat trick against Marian on Oct. 27. … Wendt's four-goal game vs. the Royals was the first by a Cardinal since 2001, while her two hat tricks are the most in a single season Emily Kearns scored three goals in a game twice during the 2003-04 season. … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) and Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' two goals in last Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to Bethel. … With her four goals against Bethel, Wendt heads into this weekend's games against Hamline as the team-leader in goals (13) and points (18). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.), who assisted on two of Wendt's four goals vs. Bethel last Saturday, owns a team-best 11 assists, two more than Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.). … Moser is second to Wendt in points with 12, while Ryan, Cwik, and Hafiz are all tied for third with 11. … Ryan recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against Concordia on Jan. 12. … 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's two assists vs. Bethel last Saturday marked the fourth time this season the freshman has two assists in a game. … 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.), who made 58 saves in the Cardinals' two games against Bethel last weekend—including 37 in the Cardinals' 4-2 win last Saturday, stopped a season-high 42 shots in the Cardinals' 1-1 tie against Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Corcoran has stopped 30 or more shots 11 times this season—including six of her last seven starts. … Corcoran boasts a 2.60 goals-against-average and a .919 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 29 goals in their eight wins this season, while managing a combined 15 goals in their 11 losses. … The Cardinals are 4-3-0 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 Hamline Pipers:
2017-18 Roster | 2017-18 Statistics | 2017-18 Schedule
• With their sweep of Concordia last weekend, the Pipers remained atop the MIAC regular-season standings, while also locking up one of the five MIAC Playoff berths. … Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight road game for the Pipers—who have suffered all three of their losses, and both of their ties, on the road this season. HU is a perfect 10-0-0 on tis home ice. … Hamline, which set a school record for wins (16) with last Saturday's 13-4 win over Concordia, heads into the its weekend series against Saint Mary's ranked No. 8 in the latest D3hockey.com Poll, while receiving votes in the USCHO.com Poll. … With their 4-3, 13-4 sweep of Concordia, the Pipers have now won three straight and are 8-1-1 in their last 10. … Sarah Bobrowski became the first player in NCAA Division III women's hockey history to record nine points in a game in the Pipers' 13-4 win over Concordia last Saturday, scoring a school-record six goals and assisting on three others. … Bree Simon, meanwhile, recorded two goals and added five assists in the 13-4 rout of CC. … Bobrowski heads ito the weekend with a team-high 49 points—which leads all of NCAA Division III. … Simon is the team's leader in goals with 26), while Bobrowski has a team-best 33 assists. … Hamline boasts four players—Simon (26), Bobrowski (16), Jordan Hansen (12), and Darby Dodds (11)—with 10 or more goals. … Six Pipers own six players with 10 or more assists, and nine players with 10 or more points—including three, Bobrowski (49), Simon (47), and Dodds (42)—with 40 or more points. … Hamline has scored 24 power-play goals this season, led by Simon and Leah Schwartzman with four each, while Bobrowski has netted two of Hamline's five shorthanded tallies. … The Pipers have used three different goalies this season, led by Angie Juergens, who has started 13 of the Pipers 21 games. … Juergens owns a 1.58 goals-against-average and .934 save percentage, while Mckenna Hulslander boasts a 2.47 GAA and .899 save percentage in eight starts and Mari Johnson is sitting with a 3.58 GAA and .818 save percentage in four relief appearances. … Juergens has stopped 296 of the 317 shots she's faced and owns all three of the Pipers' shutouts. … The Pipers have outscored their opponents 105-42—including 31-12 in the first period, 40-15 in the second, and 34-15 in the third. … Hamline's 13 goals against Concordia last Saturday were a season-high—and marked the fifth time this season the Pipers have netted eight or more goals in a game. … Hamline has scored first in 13 of its 21 games, owning an 11-1-1 record in those 13 contests. The Pipers are 5-2-1 when their opponent scores first. … Hamline has played two overtime games this season, with both ending in ties—2-2 vs. St. Scholastica on Dec. 8 and 4-4 vs. Augsburg on Jan. 13.