By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host Gustavus in the first game of their two-game MIAC series. Puck drop at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-4-2 MIAC, 3-11-3 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (3-6-1, 6-12-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: January 17, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: UW-Stout scored three unanswered goals — including a pair in the second period — as the Blue Devils dealt the Cardinals a 4-2 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Gustavus: January 18-19, 2019 * Minneapolis/St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties picked up a split in their two-game conference series against league-leading Augsburg last weekend — with both teams winning on their home ice. Augsburg took the first game 4-2 at Ed Saugestad Rink, while Gustavus bounced back with a 3-1 win the following day | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Earlier This Year:
• October 26, 2018 * Blaine, Minn.: Gustavus scored a pair of power-play goals in dealing the Cardinals a 3-1 nonconference setback during the opening day of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
• January 26, 2018 * St. Peter, Minn.: Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) stopped all 31 shots he faced and Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) scored the game's only goal in the first period, as the Cardinals picked up their third straight win, beating the Gusties 1-0 at Don Roberts Ice Arena | Recap
• January 27, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: In their first home game since Dec. 6, the Cardinals rallied from a 3-2 deficit with a pair of goals in the third period en route to their fourth straight win, a 4-3 decision over the Gusties at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties head to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., on Saturday for the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Game time is set for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against Gustavus is the sixth straight home game for the Cardinals, who opened the season playing 10 of their first 12 games away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … The Cardinals' game against UW-Stout on Jan. 17 was their final nonconference game of the season. … The Cardinals head into this weekend's series against Gustavus 3-3-2 in their last eight games. … Saint Mary's 4-2 loss to UW-Stout on Jan. 17 marked the 14th time in 17 games this season that the contest was decided by two goals or less. The Cardinals have played in eight one-goal contests and have had six going into overtime. … Saint Mary's seven-goal outburst in its 7-2 win over Concordia on Jan. 12 was a season-high — and marked the highest single-game goal total since scoring seven against UW-Stout in a 7-4 win on Jan. 19, 2018. … With their two goals against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, Saint Mary's has now scored 29 goals in its last eight games. … Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in their 4-2 nonconference loss to UW-Stout on Jan. 17. Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), meanwhile, picked up assists on both goals. … Owen Sikich (Wolfboro, N.H.) had his four-game goal-scoring streak snapped against UW-Stout on Jan. 17. Sikich was the fourth Cardinal to put together a consecutive-game scoring streak of three or more games, joining Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.), and Liverance, who all had three-game streaks this season. … With his goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, Tommy Stang moved into the team lead with seven — one more than Liverance and Hatton, and two in front of DiBacco and Sikich. … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) is the team's assist leader with 11, two more than Jack Stang. … Along with his team-high seven goals, Tommy Stang also leads the team in points with 14, followed by Liverance and Jack Stang with 12, and Robertson with 11.
 Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) collected his first collegiate two-goal game with a pair of tallies 25 seconds apart in Saint Mary's 4-4 tie against Lake Forest on Nov. 24. … Liverance had a hand in all three goals — scoring once and assisting on the other two — in Saint Mary's 5-3 loss to St. Thomas on Nov. 3. … All three of the Cardinals' goals in their 3-3 tie against St. Thomas on Nov. 2 were scored by freshmen. Liverance picked up his first two collegiate goals, while Hatton scored the other. … Saint Mary's boasts five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Liverance, Hatton, Stoynich, Sikich, and Tucker Chapman (Rochester, Minn.). … Saint Mary's has netted 13 power-play goals this season, with Hatton and Tommy Stang leading the way with three each, while Liverance and DiBacco have both scored two. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) made 25 saves in goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 17. … Nast owns four games of 30 or more saves this season. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into Saint Mary's conference series against Gustavus this weekend with a 3.03 goals-against-average and a .894 save percentage. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) finished with 37 saves in the Cardinals' 5-3 loss to Concordia on Jan. 11. The 37-save showing against the Cobbers marked the fourth time in six starts that Rogers has stopped 30 or more shots — including a season- and career-high 43 against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 10. …  … Rogers boasts a 3.15 GAA and .910 save percentage. … The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to UW-Superior on Dec. 7 snapped their streak of three straight overtime games. … Saint Mary's 4-3 overtime win over Saint John's on Dec. 1 put an end to the Cardinals' season-opening 11-game winless streak (0-8-3). … The Cardinals have scored first in 10 of their 17 games, going 3-5-2 in those 10 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-6-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is 3-1-0 when leading after two periods, but the Cardinals are still searching for their first win (0-7-3) when trailing heading into the game's final period. … Six of Saint Mary's first 10 opponents were nationally ranked — including a 3-2 loss to No. 1 UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 9. Two of SMU's other four opponents — Concordia and Gustavus — both qualified for the MIAC Playoffs a year ago.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Beginning with Friday's conference matchup at Saint Mary's, the Gusties play three of their next four games on the road. … The Gusties put an end to their season-high six-game losing streak with last Saturday's 3-1 win over league-leading Augsburg. … Gustavus' last seven games — and 14 of its 19 contests this season — have been decided by two goals or less. … Toby Sengvongxay and Tyler Rock scored the Gusties' two goals in last Friday's 4-2 loss to Augsburg, while Cody Schmidt picked up a pair of goals and Evan Erickson added the other in GAC's 3-1 win over the Auggies the following day. … Erickson's goal last Saturday was his team-leading seven of the season. … Caleb Anderson is the team-leader in assists with nine, while he and Erickson share the team lead in points with 13 each. … Schmidt (4 G, 6 A) is third in points with 10. … Sengvongxay is second to Erickson in goals with five, while Erickson and Schmidt are second to Anderson in assists with six each. … Schmidt and Tyler Ebner have each scored a team-best two game-winning goals. … GAC has netted 11 power-play goals, led by Erickson with three and Van Sullivan with two. … Chris Amsden and Robbie Goor have shared the goaltending duties for the Gusties this season, with Amsden posting a 2.34 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage in 11 starts, while Goor comes into the weekend with a 2.26 GAA and .926 save percentage in eight starts. … Amsden has made a team-high 272 saves, with Goor close behind at 224. … The Gusties have played six one-goal games and are still searching for their first win (0-6-0). Three of those six one-goal losses have been 1-0 decisions. … GAC is 5-1-1 when leading after two periods, while going 0-8-0 when trailing after 40 minutes. … GAC has scored first in nine of its 19 games, posting a 5-3-1 record. The Gusties are 1-9-0 when their opponent scores first.