By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ADRIAN, Mich. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team kicks off the 2019-20 season on the road on Saturday, heading to Adrian's Arrington Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against the third-ranked Bulldogs.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2018-19: 9-11-6 Overall) at #3 Adrian Bulldogs (2018-19: 24-5-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—October 26, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored a pair of goals in both the second and third periods in rolling to a 5-0 exhibition win over Northland at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Adrian—February 15-16, 2019 * Mendota Heights, Minn.: The Bulldogs went 2-1 in the NCAA national tournament, opening with a 3-2, overtime win over Elmira, before falling to Plattsburgh State 4-1 in the semifinals. Adrian regrouped with a 1-0 win over St. Thomas in the third-place game | Elmira Recap * Plattsburg Recap * St. Thomas Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Adrian — Their Last Meeting:
• January 10, 2015 * Winona, Minn.: The seventh-ranked Bulldogs scored two goals in both the second and third periods in handing Saint Mary's a 4-1 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Bulldogs return to Arrington Ice Arena in Adrian, Mich., on Sunday for the second game of their two-game nonconference series. Opening face-off is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Final Statistics
• The Cardinals had a pair of players earn MIAC post-season honors a year ago — Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) was an All-MIAC First-Team selection, while Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) was an honorable-mention selection. … The Cardinals made their first MIAC Tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season a year ago — and their 11th in program history — falling to fourth-seeded Gustavus 5-0 in the quarterfinals. … Saint Mary's closed out the season 3-3-2 in its last eight games — including a pair of losses to fourth-ranked Hamline and the other to Gustavus. … Saint Mary's closed out the regular season having gone 4-6-5 in its 15 road games, while sporting a 5-5-1 record on its home ice. … Nine of the Cardinals' last 13 games — including their regular season-ending 4-3, 2-1 sweep of St. Olaf on Feb. 15-16 — were decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals' six ties last season equaled the single-season school record, last accomplished during the 2011-12 season, when Saint Mary's finished the year 7-12-6. … Ryan closed out her junior year owning the team lead with eight goals, one more than Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.), and two in front of both Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) and Wendt. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate three-assist game in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 16, giving the junior a team-leading 13 helpers. … Along with her team-high eight goals, Ryan also shared the team lead in points (15) with Moser, while Wendt (14) and Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill. / 12) also recorded 10 or more points last season. … 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. … Wendt had her season- and career-high three-game goal-scoring streak snapped in the Cardinals' loss to Hamline on Feb. 9. … Saint Mary's 43 goals came from 11 different players, while 15 Cardinals recorded at least one point. … Saint Mary's nine game-winning goals last season were scored by six different players — Ryan (2), Zebro (2), Moser, Sheridan, Chrastka, Kourtney Jancze (Stillwater, Minn.), and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.). … The Cardinals boasted six players who scored their first collegiate goals last season — Zebro, Chrastka, Jancze, Sheridan, Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.), and Lauryn Folker (Cody, Wyo.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) made a season-high 37 saves against Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Ziakas' 37-save effort against the Gusties on Jan. 26 was just four shy of her career high. … Ziakas closed out the season boasting a 2.02 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage in 15 appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owned a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in four games and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) — who recorded a season-high 31 saves against Hamline on Feb. 9 — compiled a 3.07 GAA and .896 save percentage in 10 starts. … Ziakas led the goalie corps with 356 saves, with Keeley second with 225. … All three Cardinal goalies posted at least one shutout last season. Keeley stopped all 28 shots she faced in Saint Mary's 1-0 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 19 — it was her second shutout of the season. The freshman also stopped all 16 shots in notching her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — against Marian on Oct. 27. 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. … Saint Mary's games against fifth-ranked Hamline on Feb. 8-9 were the fifth and sixth against a nationally ranked opponent last season. The Cardinals also played a pair of games against then-No. 9 St. Thomas on No. 9-10, faced then-No. 10 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20, and squared off against then-sixth-ranked UW-River Falls on Jan. 8. … 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 scored first 13 times last season — including eight of its nine wins and five of its six ties. The Cardinals recorded their lone win (1-11-1) when their opponent scored first against St. Olaf on Feb. 15. … Saint Mary's was 8-1-2 when leading after two periods, but were winless (0-9-1) 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.
 
Scouting The Adrian Bulldogs:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Final Statistics
• The Bulldogs are coming off a 24-5-2 season a year ago — including an appearance in the NCAA Tournament semifinals, where they fell to eventual national champion Plattsburgh State 4-1. Adrian closed out the year with a 1-0 win over St. Thomas in the NCAA Tournament third-place game. … Adrian enters the weekend ranked No. 3 in the USCHO.com Top 10. … The Bulldogs' 4-1 loss to Plattsburg State in the national tournament semifinals snapped their 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1). … Nineteen of Adrian's 24 wins a year ago came during two lengthy winning streaks — one of nine straight and the other of 10. … Adrian returns three of its top four point-getters from a year ago, but will be without graduated seniors Tory Harshman — who led the team with 33 points — and Kortney Diaz, the team's goal-scoring leader with 16. … Adrian scored 118 goals a year ago, and boasted four players — Diaz (16), Harshman (14), Maggie Mittler (12), and Brianna Buchanan (10) — with 10 or more goals. … Jacqueline White owns a team-high 22 assists last year, and was second to Harshman with 31 points. … Mittler (25), Buchanan (24), Diaz (24), and three-time AHCA All-American Kelly O'Sullivan (21) also owned 20 or more points last season. … Diaz closed out the year leading the team with four game-winning goals and three short0-handed tallies. … Diaz's three short-handed goals were tops in NCAA Division III. … Denisa Jandova made 15 starts in goal for the Bulldogs a year ago, posting a 0.98 goals-against-average and a .952 save percentage. Katie Turner (2.16 GAA, .898 save %) started 12 games between the pipes and Mia Glassco (0.49 GAA, .960 save %) made four starts. … Jandova finished with a team-high 315 saves, followed by Turner with 221. … Adrian outscored its opponents in every period — 42-11 in the first, 33-18 in the second, and 3913 in the third. … The Bulldogs scored first in 24 of their 31 games, going 21-1-2. Adrian was 3-4-0 when its opponent scored first. … Adrian was unbeaten (18-0-1) when leading after the second period. … Adrian played seven overtime games last season, going 4-1-2.