By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to Drake Arena for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC matchup against St. Catherine.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-5-1 MIAC, 5-7-3 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (1-6-1 MIAC, 4-10-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 11-12, 2019 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cardinals took three of a possible four conference points from Concordia last weekend at the Moorhead Sports Center. Saint Mary's and CC battled to a 1-1 overtime tie last Friday, while Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) scored two minutes into overtime to lift the Cardinals to a 2-1 win in the rematch the following afternoon | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
• St. Catherine—January 11-12, 2019 * Northfield, Minn./St. Paul, Minn.: The Wildcats picked up three conference points last weekend in their two-game series against St. Olaf. SCU and the Oles battled to a 3-3 tie at the St. Olaf Ice Arena on Friday, with the Wildcats grabbing a 3-2 win in the rematch at Drake Arena | STO Recap 1 * STO Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine  — A Year Ago:
• January 19, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored a pair of goals in the game's final 8:12 — including Anya Hafiz's (Woodbury, Minn.) game-tying tally with three minutes remaining — as Saint Mary's battled St. Catherine to a 3-3 deadlock at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 20, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals and Wildcats combined for four first-period goals — including the game's first goal just 30 seconds after the opening face-off. Over the game's final two periods, three more goals would be scored. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, two of those three goals came off the sticks of Wildcat players, as St. Catherine handed Saint Mary's a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Drake Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Wildcats are back in action on Saturday, heading to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the second game of their two-game conference series. Puck drop is slated for 4 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game at St. Catherine is the third straight road game for the Cardinals — who have played four of their previous five contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their two overtime games against Concordia last weekend, the Cardinals have now gone into OT in four of their last five games — including three ending in 1-1 ties. … Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) scored the Cardinals' goal in last Friday's 1-1 tie against Concordia, while Bailey Wendt (Roseville, Minn.) and Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) found the back of the net in Saturday's rematch — Moser's the game-winner two minutes into overtime. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) head into the Cardinals' conference series against St. Catherine this weekend sharing the team lead in goals with five. Wendt, Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.), and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) are all second with three goals each. … Moser picked up her team-leading seventh assist of the season against UW-River Falls on Jan. 8. … Moser owns a team-high nine points, one more than Ryan, Chrastka, and Wendt. … Zebro recorded her second collegiate two-goal game on Jan. 8 against nationally ranked 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. … Saint Mary's 27 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Saint Mary's five game-winning goals this season have come from five different players — Moser, Ryan, Zebro, Chrastka, and Wolf. … 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.) made a season-high 28 saves against Concordia last Friday and followed that up with 24 saves in the teams' rematch the following day. … Ziakas heads into Friday's showdown against St. Catherine boasting a 1.32 goals-against-average and a .944 save percentage in six 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 134 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 played four overtime games this season — including a 2-1 win and three 1-1 ties. … Saint Mary's game against sixth-ranked UW-River Falls on Jan. 8 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 five 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. … The Cardinals' 6-3 loss to nationally ranked UW-River Falls on Jan. 8 was their final nonconference game of the season. Saint Mary's finished 3-2-2 in its seven non-league games. … 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 St. Catherine Wildcats:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Wildcats' 3-2 win over St. Olaf last Saturday snapped their three-game winless streak (0-2-1). … St. Catherine's win against the Oles was just its second win in the Wildcats' last 13 games — a stretch that included a season-high eight-game losing streak. … Brede Postier posted a pair of two-goal games against St. Olaf last weekend, while MacKenzie Ess netted the other goal in last Friday's 3-3 tie and Laken Muller delivered the game-winner 41 seconds into overtime in SCU's 3-2 win the following afternoon. … Postier heads into this weekend's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team with seven goals, one more than Emilee Anderson and three in front of Laken Muller. … Postier has recorded two of the Wildcat's three two-goal games this season, with Anderson accounting for the other. … Lexi Muller has amassed a team-leading eight assists, followed by Ess and Tori Thompson with six helpers each. … Postier is the team's points leader with 11. … Ess, Anderson, Laken Muller, and Thompson have scored St. Catherine's four power-play goals this season, while Postier owns both of the Wildcats' shorthanded tallies. … St. Catherine has used three different goalies this season, led by Elizabeth Kubicek, who has compiled a 2.33 goals-against-average and .909 save percentage in nine starts. Karly Schmidt has made six starts, putting together a 4.06 GAA and .864 save percentage, with Bryce Boreen boasting a 1.93 GAA and .943 save percentage in two starts. … Kubicek has stopped 189 of the 208 shots she's faced. Schmidt is close behind with 127 saves on 147 shots. … The Wildcats have been outscored 45-27 — including 13-3 in the first period. … Last Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over St. Olaf was the Wildcats' first one-goal win of the season — SCU is 1-4-0 in one-goal contests, while going 1-1 in two-goal games and 2-5-0 in games decided by three goals or more. … St. Catherine has scored first just three times this season, going 2-0-1. SCU is 2-10-0 when its opponent scores first. … The Wildcats have played four overtime games this season, going 1-2-1 — SCU lost twice to Concordia (3-2 and 4-3), and beat and tied St. Olaf (3-2 and 3-3).