By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to the Moorhead Sports Center for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown against Concordia.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5-0 MIAC, 4-7-2 Overall) at Concordia Cobbers (5-0-1 MIAC, 8-4-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—January 8, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Sixth-ranked UW-River Falls erupted for three goals in the first period and two more in the second, as the Falcons handed the Cardinals a 6-3 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Concordia—December 14-15, 2018 * Moorhead, Minn.: The Cobbers held Finlandia to one goal in the teams' two-game nonconference series at the Moorhead Sports Center, as Concordia picked up 3-1 and 1-0 victories in their final games before the holiday break | FU Recap 1 * FU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Concordia  — A Year Ago:
• January 12, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals — coming off a pair of three-goal games against Lake Forest (a 3-2 win and 6-3 loss) the previous weekend — were once again in high-octane form, erupting for three goals for the straight game. Unfortunately for coach Greg Moore, for the second consecutive outing, three goals was not enough. Concordia — fueled by a pair of empty-net tallies in the game's final two minutes — dealt the Cardinals a 6-3 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• January 13, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) scored a pair of goals and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) netted her first collegiate tally, as the Cardinals netted three goals for a fourth consecutive game — this time in a 3-2 win over Concordia in the teams' rematch at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Cobbers will return to the Moorhead Sports Center on Saturday for the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Cardinals, who enter this weekend's games against Concordia 2-2-2 in their last six games, are in a stretch of playing six of seven games on the road — the lone exception, last Tuesday's nonconference game against UW-River Falls. … The Cardinals' 6-3 loss to No. 6 UW-River Falls Tuesday was their final nonconference game of the season. Saint Mary's finished 3-2-2 in its seven non-league games. … Saint Mary's game against sixth-ranked UW-River Falls on Tuesday 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. … Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) recorded her second collegiate two-goal game Tuesday against 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. … Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.) scored for the second straight game to account for Saint Mary's other goal against UW-River Falls Tuesday. … Zebro and Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) head into the Cardinals' conference series against Concordia sharing the team in goals with five. Chrastka, Budensiek, and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) are all second with three goals each. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) picked up her team-leading seventh assist of the season against UW-River Falls Tuesday. … Moser also leads the team with eight points, one more than Ryan and Chrastka. … Saint Mary's 25 goals this season have come from 10 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Ryan, Zebro, Chrastka, and Wolf own the Cardinals' four game-winning goals. … The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Zebro, Budensiek, Chrastka, Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Lauren Folker (Cody, Wyo.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) heads into this weekend's action against Concordia boasting a 1.52 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage in four appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in three games and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) has compiled a 2.79 GAA and .901 save percentage in a team-leading seven starts. … Keeley leads the goaltending corps with 154 saves, followed by Corcoran with 86 and Ziakas with 82. … All three Cardinal goalies have posted a shutout this season. 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; Ziakas posted her first collegiate shutout in the Cardinals' first meeting with UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8, stopping all 24 Pointer shots; and Keeley stopped all 16 shots she faced in notching 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. … Saint Mary's played its first two overtime games of the season at the UW-Stevens Point Crossover Tournament on Jan. 4-5— with both contests ending in 1-1 ties. … 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 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 Concordia Cobbers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of four straight home games for the Cobbers, who are 3-1-1 on their home ice. … The Cobbers head into this weekend's conference series against Saint Mary's riding a six-game MIAC unbeaten streak (5-0-1). … With their sweep of Finlandia on Dec. 14-15, the Cobbers have won five of their last six. … Concordia and Finlandia were whistled for a combined five penalties in their two-game series — including one lone FU penalty in CC's 3-1 win on Dec. 14. … Amanda Flemming, Tiffany Hanson, and Maddie Ellingson accounted for Concordia's three goals in its 3-1 win over Finlandia on Dec. 14, while Anna Ballweber netted the game's only goal in CC's 1-0 win the following day. … The goals by Hanson and Ballweber — both game-winners — were the first of their collegiate careers. … Flemming's goal against Finlandia on Dec. 14 was her team-leading eighth of the season. … Concordia is 6-0-1 when Flemming scores this season. … Along with her team-leading eight goals, Flemming also leads the Cobbers with 12 points. … Callie Fagerstrom and Megan Mohr share the team lead in assists with five each, one more than Flemming, Megan Dondelinger, Sara Baumann, Libby Hinrichs, and Ally Wistala. … The Cobbers have scored 10 special-team goals — nine power-play and one shorthanded. … Dondelinger, Fagerstrom, Flemming, and Mohr have all netted two power-play goals, with Barta accounting for the other man-advantage tally. … The Cobbers have used four different goalies through 13 games, led by Brittany Boss (6 GP) and Emily Musielewicz (5 GP). Boss boasts a 3.43 goals-against-average and .988 save percentage in six games, while Musielewicz has a 3.10 GAA and .888 save percentage in five games. Nicole Schulz (0.77 GAA, .917 save %) and Amy Jost (0.80 GAA, .958 save %) have each appeared in two games. … Jost stopped all 15 shots she faced in recording her first shutout of the season against Finlandia on Dec. 15. … Concordia has played three overtime games this season — all in a seven-day span. CC needed overtime to beat St. Catherine in both of their meetings (3-2 and 4-3) and battled Bethel to a 3-3 tie. … The Cobbers' 1-0 win over Finlandia on Dec. 15 was their eighth of the year — tying the program record for wins before the Christmas break. Concordia also collected eight pre-Christmas victories in the 2016-17 season. … Concordia finished with 96 shots on goal against Finlandia on Dec. 14-15 — including a season-high 54 in its 3-1 win on Dec. 14. The Cobbers have now posted 40 or more shots on goal in each of their last three games. … Concordia's 54 shots on goal against Finlandia on Dec. 14 were the most since CC had 56 against St. Benedict at the start of the 2016-17 season. … Five of Concordia's eight wins have been one-goal decisions, while two others have been by two goals. … The Cobbers are 6-1-1 when scoring first, while going 2-3-0 when their opponent scores the game's first goal. … Concordia netted a season-high seven goals in beating Northland 7-4 on Dec. 7, while allowing a season-high seven goals against UW-River Falls on Nov. 2.