By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out its two-game MIAC series against Gustavus on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Don Roberts Ice Rink for a 7:05 p.m. conference matchup against the Gusties.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-4-2 MIAC, 4-11-3 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (3-7-1, 6-13-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
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Last Night:
• January 25, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) stopped all 28 shots and the Cardinals got goals from Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) in collecting a 2-0 conference win over Gustavus at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
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 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena next Friday for the first game of their two-game MIAC series against Bethel. Game time is set for 7 p.m. The two teams will then head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
• Gustavus: The Gusties head to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., next weekend — taking on the Cobbers in a 7 p.m. contest on Friday, before closing out the two-game series with a 2 p.m. matinee the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against Gustavus was 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. … With their 2-0 win over Gustavus on Friday, the Cardinals improved to 4-3-2 in their last nine games. … Friday's win was the first shutout of the season for the Cardinals. … Saint Mary's 2-0 victory over the Gusties marked the 15th time in 18 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. … With their two goals against Gustavus Friday — the second straight game in which Saint Mary's has netted two goals — the Cardinals have now scored 31 goals in its last nine games. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored the Cardinals' two goals against Gustavus Friday. … Jack Stang has now recorded a point in five straight games (3 goals, 4 assists). … Sikich — whose goal against Gustavus was the Cardinals' first empty-net goal of the season — 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 Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario), who all had three-game streaks this season. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) heads into Saturday's rematch with Gustavus owning the team in lead in goals with seven — one more than Liverance, Hatton, and Hatton. … 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 Jack Stang with 13, Liverance with 12, Robertson with 11, and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta). … 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 14 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.) recorded his first collegiate shutout against Gustavus on Friday, stopping all 28 shots he faced. … 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 Saturday's rematch against Gustavus with a 2.78 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. … 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. … The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to UW-Superior on Dec. 7 snapped their streak of three straight overtime games. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 18 games, going 4-5-2 in those 11 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-6-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is 4-1-0 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 lone exception, Saturday's rematch with the Cardinals. … 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 eight games — and 15 of its 20 contests this season — have been decided by two goals or less. … Evan Erickson's goal in the Gusties win over nationally ranked Augsburg last Saturday was his team-leading seventh 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. … Cody Schmidt (4 G, 6 A) is third in points with 10. … Toby 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 2.24 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage in 12 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 302 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 0-9-0 when trailing after 40 minutes. … GAC has scored first in nine of its 20 games, posting a 5-3-1 record. The Gusties are 1-10-0 when their opponent scores first.