By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena Saturday for the second game of its two-game conference series against Gustavus. Opening face-off is set for 4 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-6-2 MIAC, 6-8-4 Overall) vs. Gustavus Gusties (6-3-2 MIAC, 10-5-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• January 25, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties scored three goals in both the second and third periods in dealing the Cardinals a 6-0 conference setback at Don Roberts Ice Rink | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals square off against Bethel in a pair of MIAC contests next weekend. Saint Mary's will face BU in a 7 p.m. showdown on Friday at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., before returning home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 4 p.m. rematch.
• Gustavus: The Gusties return home to the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., next weekend for a pair of conference games against Concordia. GAC and the Cobbers will square off at 7 p.m. on Friday, with Saturday's rematch set for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game at Gustavus was the fourth road game in the last five contests for the Cardinals — who have now played six of their last eight contests away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 2-2 overtime tie against St. Catherine on Jan. 19, the Cardinals have now gone into OT in five of their last eight games — including four that ended in ties. … With their goals last weekend against St. Catherine, Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) 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 on Jan. 18, 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 1.68 goals-against-average and a .934 save percentage in eight appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in three games and Keeley has compiled a 2.68 GAA and .907 save percentage in a team-leading nine starts. … Keeley leads the team with 194 saves, followed by Ziakas with 183 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 (0-9-1) when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-1-2 when leading after two periods, but are winless (0-6-1) 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 was the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Gusties, who are 6-3-1 at Don Roberts Ice Arena this season. … With their win over Saint Mary's on Friday, the Gusties improved to 3-4-2 in their last nine games — after opening the season 7-1-1. … Allie Stanger scored twice, and Kristina Press, Amelia Vosen, Jordyn Peterson, and Hanna Mutschelknaus accounted for the other four goals in Friday's 6-0 win over Saint Mary's. … Vosen, Peterson, and Lilla Scheid all had two assists vs. the Cardinals Friday. … With her two goals against Saint Mary's, Stanger moved into the team lead with eight, one more than Vosen and two in front of both Scheid and Press. … Stanger is also the team-leader in both assists (7) and points (15). … Stanger is one of four Gusties to amass 10 or more points this season — Scheid (12), Vosen (11), and Press (11) are the other three. … Gustavus' 44 goals have come from 15 different players, while 20 Gusties have notched at least one point. … GAC has scored 12 power-play goals this season — including three against Saint Mary's Friday. … Stanger and Vosen share the team lead with three game-winning goals each. … Amanda DiNella — who recorded her second shutout of the season with 15 saves against Saint Mary's Friday — has started 17 of the Gusties' 18 games in goal, compiling a 1.68 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage. … DiNella has stopped 373 of the 401 shots she's faced. … Gustavus has played six games decided by one goal, going 4-2-0. … The Gusties have scored first in 12 of their 18 contests, posting an 8-1-3 record. GAC is 2-4-0 when its opponent scores first. … GAC is 6-1-3 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).