By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team heads to Ice Hawk Arena for the first game of 2019, as the Cardinals square off against UW-Stevens Point at 5 p.m. during the first day of the UW-Stevens Point Crossover Tournament.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6-0 Overall) at UW-Stevens Point Pointers (5-4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | Live Video
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stevens Point — Earlier This Year:
• December 8, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored single goals in all three periods — and Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) stopped all 24 shots she faced — as Saint Mary's blanked the Pointers 3-0 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Stevens Point — A Year Ago:
• December 8, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: UW-Stevens Point scored three power-play goals, as the Pointers dealt the Cardinals a 4-2 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals square off against Marian in a 5 p.m. nonconference showdown Saturday during the second day of the UW-Stevens Point Tournament at Ice Hawk Arena in Stevens Point, Wis.
• UW-Stevens Point: The Pointers are back at Ice Hawk Arena in Stevens Point, Wis., on Saturday, taking on Saint Benedict in a 2:30 p.m. nonconference game as part of the UW-Stevens Point Tournament.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Cardinals open 2019 playing five of their first six games on the road — beginning Friday at UW-Stevens Point. … The Cardinals' last two wins have both been 3-0 shutouts — Saint Mary's blanked Saint Benedict 3-0 on Nov. 30 and UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win over Saint Benedict on Nov. 30 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Lauryn Folker (Cody, Wyo.), and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) scored the Cardinals' three goals against UW-Stevens Point in their first meeting on Dec. 8. … Folker's goal against the Pointers on Dec. 8 was the first of her collegiate career. … Ryan has now scored three goals in the Cardinals' last three games — netting two of Saint Mary's three in its 3-0 win over Saint Benedict on Nov. 30. … Ryan has now posted two two-goal games this season and has four in her three-year collegiate career. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win over UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8 marked the sixth time in the last nine games that the outcome was decided by shutout. … Ryan heads into the Cardinals' rematch against UW-Stevens Point on Friday leading the team in both goals (5) and points (7). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) leads the team in assists with five. … Moser, Chrastka, and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) are all second to Ryan with six points. … Saint Mary's 20 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) is second to Ryan in goals with three having scored a trio of goals three during the Cardinals' opening weekend — netting her first collegiate goal against St. Norbert on Oct. 26, before recording her first collegiate two-goal game the following day against Marian. … Chrastka, Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.) also scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform during Saint Mary's season-opening weekend — Chrastka's and Budensiek's coming against St. Norbert on Oct. 26, with Sheridan finding the back of the net the following day against Marian. … Ryan, Zebro, Chrastka, and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) own the Cardinals' four game-winning goals. … Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) 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. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) posted her first collegiate shutout in the Cardinals' first meeting with UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8, stopping all 24 Pointer shots. … Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) stopped all 16 shots she faced in recording 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. … Keeley has now made 20 or more saves in three of her four starts — 28 and 24 against St. Thomas, and 29 vs. Augsburg. … Ziakas leads the Cardinal goaltending crops with a 1.75 goals-against-average and .928 save percentage. Corcoran is close behind with a 2.02 GAA and team-best .935 save percentage, while Keeley owns a 2.49 GAA and .909 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored seven goals in both the first and third periods, while netting six goals in the second period. On the flip side, Saint Mary's opponents have netted 11 of their 23 goals in the game's final 20 minutes. … 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 game against 10^th-ranked UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 was the Cardinals' third straight game against a nationally ranked opponent — Saint Mary's played a pair of games against No. 9 St. Thomas on Nov. 9-10. … Saint Mary's has scored first in all four of its wins. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3, season-opening win over St. Norbert equaled their single-game season high from a year ago. … 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 UW-Stevens Point Pointers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• The Pointers' 3-0 loss to Saint Mary's in their first meeting on Dec. 8 snapped their six-game road unbeaten streak (5-0-1). … UW-Stevens Point head into Friday's rematch against Saint Mary's still searching for its first home victory — the Pointers are 0-5-0 on their home ice this season. … With their 3-0 loss to Saint Mary's on Dec. 8, the Pointes have now been shut out in back-to-back games — and three times this season. … UW-Stevens Point's 3-0 loss to Saint Mary's on Dec. 8 was its third straight setback. The Pointers have been outscored 7-1 during that stretch. … Alex Grubbs heads into Friday's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with five, one more than Dani Heitsman and two in front of Lauren Smith, Cara Lemirande, and Sophie Regovic. … Smith and Cassie Newcomer share the team lead in assists with five each. … Smith is the team's points leader with nine, followed by Lemirande (8), Grubbs (7), and Newcomer (7). … UW-Stevens Point's six power-play goals have come from five different player — Smith (2) is the only Pointer with more than one PP goal. … Lemirande has accounted for three of UW-Stevens Point's five game-winning goals. … Sydney Conley has started 10 of the team's 12 games in goal (560 minutes), compiling a 2.89 goals-against-average and .913 save percentage, while Olivia Schultz owns a 2.31 GAA and .903 save percentage in four appearances (156 minutes). … Conley has stopped 282 of the 309 shots she's faced. … Conley finished with 34 saves against Saint Mary's on Dec. 8. She has now stopped 30 or more shots four times this season — including each of the Pointers' last two games. … UW-Stevens Point has been outscored 33-26 through 12 games — including 9-7 in the first period, 14-10 in the second, and 10-9 in the third. … UW-Stevens Point has been held to two goals or less in all six of its losses this season. On the flip side, the Pointers have scored three or more times in four of their five wins. … UW-Stevens Point has scored first in five of its 12 games, going 2-2-1. The Pointers are 3-3-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … Friday's game against Saint Mary's marks the seventh contest against a team from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference for the Pointers, who have already beaten St. Olaf twice (4-1, 5-2), lost to St. Thomas twice (2-1, 6-2), and to Augsburg (2-0) and Saint Mary's (3-0). UW-SP still has Friday's game against Saint Mary's, as well as matchups against MIAC foes Saint Benedict and St. Catherine, on its schedule.