By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
STEVENS POINT, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to Ice Hawk Arena on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against Marian in a 5 p.m. nonconference game during Day 2 of the UW-Stevens Point Tournament.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6-1 Overall) vs. Marian Sabres (3-9-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 4, 2019 * Stevens Point, Wis.: Saint Mary's scored the game's first goal and made that goal hold up, as the Cardinals held on for a 1-1 tie against UW-Stevens Point at Ice Hawks Arena | Recap
• Marian—January 4, 2019 * Stevens Point, Wis.: Mollie Wise scored 2:27 into overtime, as Saint Benedict handed the Sabres a 2-1 setback during the opening day of the UW-Stevens Point Crossover Tournament at Ice Hawk Arena | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Marian  — Earlier This Year:
• October 27, 2018 * Fond du Lac, Wis.: The Cardinals used a pair of two-goal periods — one in the first and one in the third — not to mention a 16-save effort from Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) en route to a 4-0 victory over Marian Saturday afternoon at the Blue Line Ice Center | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Marian — A Year Ago:
• October 27, 2017 * Winona, Minn.: Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' first three goals to lead Saint Mary's to a season-opening 5-3 nonconference win over Marian at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena — and earn first-year head coach Greg Moore his first collegiate coaching win | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Tuesday, as Saint Mary's entertains nationally ranked UW-River Falls in a 7 p.m. nonconference game.
• Marian: The Sabres are now off until Jan. 18-19, when they head to Ashland, Wis., for a pair of games against Northland.
 
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 with this weekend's games against UW-Stevens Point and Marian as part of the UW-Stevens Point Tournament. … Friday's 1-1 deadlock against UW-Stevens Point was the Cardinals' first tie of the season. … The Cardinals' last two wins were both been 3-0 shutouts — Saint Mary's blanked Saint Benedict 3-0 on Nov. 30 and UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8. … Friday's 1-1 tie against UW-Stevens Point was the Cardinals' first overtime deadlock of the season. … The Cardinals' 3-0 win over Saint Benedict on Nov. 30 snapped their season-high five-game losing streak. … Delany Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) accounted for Saint Mary's lone goal in Friday's 1-1 tie against UW-Stevens Point. … Lauren Folker's (Wyo.) goal against the Pointers on Dec. 8 was the first of her collegiate career. … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) has scored three goals in the Cardinals' last found 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 10 games that the outcome was decided by shutout. … Ryan heads into the Cardinals' rematch against Marian on Saturday leading the team in both goals (5) and points (7). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) leads the team in assists with six. … Moser, Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), 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.) — who finished with 28 saves against UW-Stevens Point Friday ­— 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 four of her five starts — 28 vs. UW-Stevens Point, 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 2.16 GAA and .921 save percentage. … The Cardinals have scored eight goals in the first period and seven in the third, while netting six goals in the second period. On the flip side, Saint Mary's opponents have netted 12 of their 25 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 Marian Sabres:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Sabres kick off the 2019 portion of their schedule playing six consecutive road games. In fact, Marian does not play a home game in the month of January, before closing out the regular season with four of their six February games on their home ice. … Marian had its three-game winning streak snapped with a 6-3 loss to Augsburg on Dec. 8. Augsburg's six goals were twice as many as the Sabres had allowed during their three-game win streak — in which they beat Finlandia (4-1, 2-1) and UW-Stevens Point (2-1). … After losing their first four games — all by shutout — Marian is 3-5-2 in its last 10 contests. … Morgan Bolin heads into Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with five, one more than Hailey Miller. … Along with her four goals, Miller also leads the team in both assists (5) and points (9). … Marian has scored just six power-play goals through 13 games, with Ally Fox leading the way with two. … The Sabres' three game-winning goals this season have come from three different players — Fox, Katie Meierotto, and Natalie West. … Lindsey Strainis has started 12 of the team's 14 games in goal, compiling a 3.13 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage. Lindsay Lewison has made the other two starts between the pipes, recording a 2.33 GAA and .912 save percentage. … Strainis has stopped 363 of the 398 shots she's faced this season. … Strainis has stopped 30 or more shots in a game seven times this season — including a career-high 66 against St. Scholastica on Nov. 3. … Augsburg's six goals in its 6-3 win over Marian on Dec. 8 marked the third time this season the Sabres have given up six or more goals. Concordia (Wis.) scored six in a 6-2 win on November 8, while the Sabres surrendered a season-high eight goals in falling to UW-Eau Claire 8-0 on Oct. 28. … Marian has scored first in three of their 14 games, going 1-1-1. The Sabres are 2-8-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … Marian is 2-2-1 in one-goal games this year, while going 1-6-0 in games decided by three or more goals.