Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team hits the road on Friday for the first game of its two-game MIAC series against Gustavus. Game time at Don Roberts Ice Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-5-2 MIAC, 6-7-4 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (5-3-2 MIAC, 9-5-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 18-19, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up three of a possible four conference points in their two MIAC games against St. Catherine. Saint Mary's and SCU skated to a 2-2 tie in Friday's opener at Drake Arena, while Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) netted the game's only goal early in the first period in leading the Cardinals to a 1-0 win in the rematch the following afternoon at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | SCU Recap 1 * SCU Recap 2
• Gustavus—January 18-19, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn./Minneapolis, Minn.: The Gusties managed just one point in their two-game MIAC series against Augsburg last weekend. GAC dropped a 3-0 decision at the Don Roberts Ice Arena on Friday, before battling the Auggies to a 2-2 overtime stalemate in the rematch at Ed Saugestad Rink the following day | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus  — A Year Ago:
• January 26, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Gustavus came into its MIAC game against the Cardinals ranked fourth in the latest USCHO.com Poll, but Saint Mary's was unfazed by the lofty ranking, as Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) scored the game-tying goal in the first period and Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) stopped 42 GAC shots, as the two teams battled to a 1-1 overtime tie at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 27, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus rebounded from its one-goal outing in its 1-1 tie with the Cardinals the previous evening by scoring two goals in both the second and third periods in blanking Saint Mary's 5-0 at the Don Roberts Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday afternoon for the second game of the teams' two-game conference series. Opening faceoff 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 Gustavus is the fourth road game in the last five contests for the Cardinals — who have now played five of their last seven contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 2-2 overtime tie against St. Catherine last Friday, the Cardinals have now gone into OT in five of their last seven games — including four that ended in ties. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) and Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in last Friday's 2-2 tie against St. Catherine, while Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) tallied the game's lone goal in Saint Mary's 1-0 win over the Wildcats the following day. … With their goals last weekend against St. Catherine, Zebro and Ryan pushed their team-leading totals to six — three in front of Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.), Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.), and Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) picked up her team-leading eighth assist of the season against St. Catherine last weekend. … Moser owns a team-high 10 points, one more than Ryan and Wendt, and two in front of Zebro and Chrastka. … 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 31 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Saint Mary's six game-winning goals this season have come from five different players — Ryan (2), Moser, 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 29 saves against St. Catherine last Friday, while Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) stopped all 28 shots she faced in Saint Mary's 1-0 win over the Wildcats the following day. … Keeley has now recorded a team-high two shutouts this season. The freshman stopped all 16 shots in notching her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — against Marian on Oct. 27. … Ziakas heads into this weekend's showdown against Gustavus boasting a 1.32 goals-against-average and a .944 save percentage in seven appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in three games and Keeley has compiled a 2.40 GAA and .914 save percentage in a team-leading eight starts. … Keeley leads the team with 182 saves, followed by Ziakas with 163 and Corcoran with 86. … All three Cardinal goalies have posted at least one shutout this season. Along with Keeley's two, 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; while Ziakas posted her first collegiate shutout in the Cardinals' first meeting with UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8, stopping all 24 Pointer shots. … 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 five overtime games this season — including a 2-1 win over Concordia on Jan. 12, a 2-2 tie vs. St. Catherine on Jan. 18, 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 eight times this season — including all six of its wins — and two of its three ties. The Cardinals are still searching for their first win (0-8-1) when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-1-2 when leading after two periods, but are winless (0-5-1) when trailing heading into the third period. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Gusties, who are 5-3-1 at Don Roberts Ice Arena this season. … With their loss and tie against Augsburg, the Gusties are now 2-4-2 in their last eight — after opening the season 7-1-1. … Amelia Vosen and Lilia Scheid scored the Gusties' two goals in last Saturday's 2-2 tie vs. Augsburg. … With their tallies against Augsburg last Saturday, Scheid and Vosen moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (6) with Allie Stanger. … Stanger also leads the team in both assists (7) and points (13). … Stanger is one of three Gusties to amass 10 or more points this season — Scheid (10) and Kristina Press (10) are the other two. … Gustavus' 38 goals have come from 13 different players, while 19 Gusties have notched at least one point. … GAC has scored nine power-play goals this season, led by Kayla Vrieze with three, and Stanger and Scheid with two each. … Stanger also leads the team with three game-winning goals, one more than both Vosen and Stephanie Anderson. … Amanda DiNella has started 16 of the Gusties' 17 games in goal, compiling a 1.78 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage. … DiNella has stopped 3587 of the 386 shots she's faced and owns one shutout. … Gustavus has played six games decided by one goal, going 4-2-0. … The Gusties have scored first in 11 of their 17 contests, posting a 7-1-3 record. GAC is 2-4-0 when its opponent scores first. … GAC is 5-1-3 when leading after two periods, but are just 1-3-0 when trailing after the game's second period. … Gustavus has played five overtime games this season — posting a 1-1-3 record. … Gustavus has played seven games against nationally ranked opponents this season. GAC split a pair of overtime games against then-No. 4 Hamline (L, 3-2; W, 2-1); lost twice to then-No. 5 UW-River Falls (L, 2-1; L, 4-0); beat then-No. 9 UW-Eau Claire (W, 3-1); and lost and tied No. 4 St. Thomas (L, 3-1; T, 2-2).