By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team hits the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Drake Arena for the second game of their two-game MIAC series against St. Catherine. Game time is slated for 4:30 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-1-0 MIAC, 2-4-0 Overall) at St. Catherine Wildcats (0-3-0 MIAC, 3-3-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• November 22, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got goals from Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.), Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), and Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) — one in each period — en route to a 3-1 win over the Wildcats | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Catherine — A Year Ago:
• January 18, 2019 * Drake Arena * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals needed to score back-to-back goals — one late in the second period and the other in the third — to rally for … yes, another overtime tie, this time a 2-2 deadlock against St. Catherine | Recap
• January 19, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) scored the game's only goal, and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) stopped all 28 shots she faced, as Saint Mary's blanked the Wildcats 1-0 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are now off until Dec. 6-7, when they return to conference play with a pair of games against nationally ranked Gustavus. Saint Mary's will entertain GAC in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Dec. 6, before heading to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter, Minn., for the 2 p.m. rematch the following afternoon.
• St. Catherine: The Wildcats return home to the Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 7-8 for a pair of MIAC contests against Saint Benedict. SCU and CSB will play at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 7, with the rematch taking place a 2 p.m. the next day.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their 3-1 victory over St. Catherine Friday, the Cardinals have now scored three or more goals in their two wins this season — Saint Mary's netted a season-high four goals in beating Concordia 4-3 on Nov. 15. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Concordia on Nov. 22 was the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal HC Sarah Murray. … Saturday's game against St. Catherine marks the fourth time in their first six games that the Cardinals have played on the road. Saint Mary's opened the season with three straight road contests — two at Adrian and the other at UW-River Falls, before last weekend's two home games against Concordia. … Three of the Cardinals' first six games have been against teams ranked in the top five of the USCHO.com Poll. Saint Mary's dropped 3-2 and 4-2 games to No. 3 Adrian on Nov. 2-3, while falling to No. 5 UW-River Falls 4-1 on Nov. 9. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.), Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), and Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) netted Saint Mary's three goals in Friday's 3-1 win over St. Catherine. … Chrastka has now scored in back-to-back games. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) heads into Saturday's rematch with St. Catherine leading the team with three goals, one more than Chrastka, Ryan, and Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.). … Amber Miller (Kasson, Minn.) and Moser share the team lead in both assists (3) and points (4). … Zebro's two-goal game in Saint Mary's 4-3 win over Concordia on Nov. 15 was her third collegiate multiple-goal game. The sophomore also scored two goals against both Marian and UW-River Falls last season. … Miller's goal against Adrian on Nov. 2 was her first as a Cardinal. … Five of the Cardinals' 13 goals this season have come on the power play. … Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) finished with 13 saves in the Cardinals' win over St. Catherine  Friday. … Keeley enters Saturday's rematch boasting a 2.35 goals-against-average and a .919 save percentage. … Keeley finished with a career-high 43 saves in Saint Mary's 4-2 loss to Adrian on Nov. 3. … Keeley's 43-save effort bettered her previous career-high by 12 saves. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Minn.), who finished with 26 saves in her last start against Concordia last Saturday — including 20 in the second period — made a season-high 36 saves against UW-River Falls on Nov. 9. … Ziakas has made 30 or more saves four times in her collegiate career — including a career-high 41 against Lake Forest on Jan. 7, 2018. … Ziakas heads into Saturday's conference game against St. Catherine boasting a 2.71 goals-against-average and .918 save percentage. … Saint Mary's 3-2 loss to Adrian on Nov. 2 snapped its four-year, season-opening winning streak. … Saint Mary's has scored seven of its 13 goals this season in the second period. On the flip side, the Cardinals' opponents have scored nine of its 18 goals in the third period. … Saint Mary's has scored first in four of its six games, going 1-3-0 … Saint Mary's is 2-1-0 when leading after two periods, while going 0-2-0 when trailing after two. … The Cardinals, who made their first MIAC Tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season a year ago — and their 11th in program history — were picked to finish sixth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
Scouting The St. Catherine Wildcats:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's was the second straight road game for the Wildcats, who have played three of their first five games on their home ice. … St. Catherine opened the season with three straight wins — outscoring their opponents 20-5 — but SCU has scored just two goals in its last three games. … Emilee Anderson — who scored St. Catherine's lone goal in its conference-opening two-game series against ninth-ranked Gustavus, a first-period tally in Game 2 — scored the Wildcats' only goal in Friday's 3-1 loss to Saint Mary's. … Anderson's goal against Saint Mary's was her team-leading fifth of the season. … Nicole Maddox is second to Anderson with four goals, one more than both Sophia Gorski and Ashlyn Rakos Lindsey Hays is the team's assist leader with five, while Anderson and Maddox are atop the leaderboard in points with eight and six, respectively. … SCU has used three different goalies this season — Karly Schmidt — who finished with 24 saves against Saint Mary's Friday — has made three starts, one more than Bryce Boreen, while Elizabeth Kubicek has made one start. … Schmidt owns a team-best 2.35 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. … Boreen has compiled a 2.39 GAA and .910 save percentage, with Kubicek sporting a 4.21GA and .714 save percentage. … Schmidt has made a team-best 73 saves, 12 more than Boreen. … St. Catherine has outscored its opponents 7-5 in the second period and 6-2 in the third. … The Wildcats have scored first just once in their first six games (1-0-0), while going 2-3-0 when their opponent scores first. … St. Catherine is 3-0-0 when leading after two periods, but are winless (0-3-0) when its opponent holds the lead heading into the third period. … The Wildcats' 23-player roster this season includes 15 freshmen and sophomores, while the junior class makes of six of the eight upperclassmen.