By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to the Moorhead Sports Center on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against Concordia in the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5-1 MIAC, 4-7-3 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (x-x-x MIAC, X-X-X Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• January 11, 2019 * Moorhead, Minn.: Concordia scored less than four minutes into the third period, as the Cobbers rallied to hand the Cardinals a 1-1 overtime tie at the Moorhead Sports Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia  — A Year Ago:
• January 12, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals — coming off a pair of three-goal games against Lake Forest last weekend in a 3-2 win and 6-3 loss — were once again in high-octane form, erupting for three goals for the straight game. Unfortunately for coach Greg Moore, for the second consecutive outing, three goals was not enough, as Concordia — fueled by a pair of empty-net tallies in the game's final two minutes — dealt the Cardinals a 6-3 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored a pair of goals and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) netted her first collegiate tally, as the Cardinals netted three goals for a fourth consecutive game — this time in a 3-2 win over Concordia in the teams' rematch at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in conference play next weekend with a pair of games against St. Catherine. Saint Mary's heads to Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Wildcats on Friday, before returning home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 4 p.m. rematch.
• Concordia: The Cobbers hit the road next weekend, traveling to Runestone Community Center in Alexandria, Minn., for two conference games against Saint Benedict. CC and CSB will play at 7:10 p.m. on Friday evening, with the rematch taking place at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Cardinals are in a stretch of playing six of seven games on the road — the lone exception, last Tuesday's nonconference game against UW-River Falls. … The Cardinals' 6-3 loss to No. 6 UW-River Falls Tuesday was their final nonconference game of the season. Saint Mary's finished 3-2-2 in its seven non-league games. … Friday's 1-1 tie against Concordia marked the third time in four games that Saint Mary's has played to a tie — all by a final score of 1-1. … Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) scored the Cardinals' goal in Friday's 1-1 tie, while Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) picked up the assist. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) recorded her second collegiate two-goal game last Tuesday against UW-River Falls, scoring the first two of the Cardinals' three goals vs. the Falcons. Zebro also had a two-goal game against Marian on Oct. 27. … Zebro and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) head into the Cardinals' rematch against Concordia Saturday sharing the team in goals with five. Chrastka, Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.), and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) are all second with three goals each. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) picked up her team-leading seventh assist of the season against UW-River Falls last Tuesday. … Moser and Chrastka share the team with eight points, one more than Ryan. … Saint Mary's 25 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Ryan, Zebro, Chrastka, and Wolf own the Cardinals' four game-winning goals. … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Zebro, Budensiek, Chrastka, Sheridan, and Lauren Folker (Cody, Wyo.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) — who made a season-high 28 saves against Concordia Friday night — heads into Saturday's rematch boasting a 1.39 goals-against-average and a .940 save percentage in five appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in three games and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) has compiled a 2.79 GAA and .901 save percentage in a team-leading seven starts. … Keeley leads the goaltending corps with 154 saves, followed by Ziakas with 110 and Corcoran with 86. … All three Cardinal goalies have posted a shutout this season. Corcoran stopped all 22 shots she faced against Saint Benedict on Nov. 30 en route to her first shutout of the season and second of her collegiate career; Ziakas posted her first collegiate shutout in the Cardinals' first meeting with UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8, stopping all 24 Pointer shots; and Keeley stopped all 16 shots she faced in notching her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — against Marian on Oct. 27. … Corcoran finished with a season-high 39 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 — including 20 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Keeley posted a career-high 29 saves in Saint Mary's 4-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 17. … Saint Mary's has now played three overtime games this season — and all three have ended in 1-1 ties. … Saint Mary's game against sixth-ranked UW-River Falls last Tuesday was the fourth against a nationally ranked opponent this season. The Cardinals played a pair of games against then-No. 9 St. Thomas on No. 9-10, and faced then-No. 10 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20. … Six of the nine goals scored between Saint Mary's and Saint Benedict on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 were scored in the first period. The Cardinals scored all three of their goals in their 3-0 win vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 20 in the opening period, while the Bennies netted three of their five tallies in their 5-1 win the following day in the game's first 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's has scored first in all four of its wins — and two of its three ties. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3, season-opening win over St. Norbert equaled their single-game season high from a year ago. … With their 6-3 season-opening win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last four seasons. … Thanks to their 6-3 win over St. Norbert and 4-0 victory over Marian, the Cardinals have now swept those two teams to open each of the last three seasons.
 
Scouting The Concordia Cobbers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth straight home games for the Cobbers, who are 3-1-2 on their home ice. … The Cobbers head into Saturday's conference showdown against Saint Mary's riding a seven-game MIAC unbeaten streak (5-0-2). … Megan Mohr scored the Cobbers' lone goal against Saint Mary's Friday evening. … Amanda Flemming enters Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's owning a team-leading eight goals, two more than Kaitlyn Page and three in front of Callie Fagerstrom and Sage Barta. … Concordia is 6-0-1 when Flemming scores this season. … Along with her team-leading eight goals, Flemming also leads the Cobbers with 13 points. … Fagerstrom leads the team in assists with six, while Flemming, Megan Dondelinger, Mohr, and Libby Hinrichs have all recorded five assists. … The Cobbers have scored 11 special-team goals: 10 power-play — including Friday's lone tally against Saint Mary's — and one shorthanded. … Fagerstrom has netted three power-play goals, with Dondelinger, Flemming, and Mohr all netting two. … The Cobbers have used four different goalies through 14 games, led by Brittany Boss (7 GP) and Emily Musielewicz (5 GP). … Boss boasts a 3.05 goals-against-average and .893 save percentage, while Musielewicz has a 3.10 GAA and .888 save percentage in five games. Nicole Schulz (0.77 GAA, .917 save %) and Amy Jost (0.80 GAA, .958 save %) have each appeared in two games. … Jost stopped all 15 shots she faced in recording her first shutout of the season against Finlandia on Dec. 15. … Concordia has played four overtime games this season. Along with Friday's 1-1 stalemate against Saint Mary's, CC needed overtime to beat St. Catherine in both of their meetings (3-2 and 4-3) and battled Bethel to a 3-3 tie. … The Cobbers' 1-0 win over Finlandia on Dec. 15 was their eighth of the year — tying the program record for wins before the Christmas break. Concordia also collected eight pre-Christmas victories in the 2016-17 season. … Concordia finished with 96 shots on goal against Finlandia on Dec. 14-15 — including a season-high 54 in its 3-1 win on Dec. 14. The Cobbers have now posted 40 or more shots on goal in each of their last three games. … Concordia's 54 shots on goal against Finlandia on Dec. 14 were the most since CC had 56 against St. Benedict at the start of the 2016-17 season. … Five of Concordia's eight wins have been one-goal decisions, while two others have been by two goals. … Concordia and Finlandia were whistled for a combined five penalties in their two-game series on Dec. 14-15 — including one lone FU penalty in CC's 3-1 win on Dec. 14. … The Cobbers are 6-1-1 when scoring first, while going 2-3-1 when their opponent scores the game's first goal. … Concordia netted a season-high seven goals in beating Northland 7-4 on Dec. 7, while allowing a season-high seven goals against UW-River Falls on Nov. 2.