By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
SUPERIOR, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team hits the road for the first time this season on Friday, heading to Wessman Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup against UW-Superior
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-1-1 Overall) at UW-Superior Yellowjackets (2018-29: 10-14-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's­­—November 1-2, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals went 0-1-1 in their season-opening nonconference series against Lake Forest. Saint Mary's battled the Foresters to a 3-3 deadlock in the opener last Friday, before falling 4-3 in the rematch the following afternoon | LF Recap 1 * LF Recap 2
• UW-Superior—Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the season-opener for the Yellowjackets, who closed out the 2018-19 season with a loss to UW-Eau Claire in the mini-game of their WIAC Championships opening-round series | G1 Recap * G2 Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Superior — Their Last Meeting:
• December 7, 2018 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: UW-Superior netted three unanswered goals — one in the waning seconds of the second period and two more in the third — as the Yellowjackets, despite being outshot 41-21, handed the Cardinals a 5-2 nonconference setback | Recap
• December 8, 2018 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) each collected two assists in the Cardinals' three-goal first period, as Saint Mary's heads into the holiday break with a 4-2 nonconference win over UW-Superior | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back on the road on Saturday, heading to Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup against UW-Eau Claire.
• UW-Superior: The Yellowjackets return to Wessman Arena in Superior, Wis., on Saturday, entertaining St. Olaf in a 7:05 p.m. nonconference game.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their season-opening 3-3 tie and 4-3 loss against Lake Forest last weekend, 19 of the Cardinals' last 29 games have been decided by two goals or less — including 10 one-goal contests and seven that have gone into overtime. … This weekend's games at UW-Superior and UW-Eau Claire are the first road contests of the season for the Cardinals, who finished 3-10-3 away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena a year ago. … Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his first — and second — collegiate goals in last Friday's 3-3 tie against Lake Forest, while Kyle Meeh accounted for the other Cardinal tally. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.), and Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.) scored Saint Mary's three goals in the Cardinals' 4-3 loss to Lake Forest in the teams' rematch last Saturday. … Along with his first-period goal, Stang also assisted on Saint Mary's other two goals in last Saturday's 4-3 loss to Lake Forest. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) each picked up two assists in last Friday's 3-3 tie with the Foresters. … Meeh, Wilhelm, Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario), Holden Biebel (Englewood, Colo.), and Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) all added assists in the Cardinals' weekend series against Lake Forest. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) finished with 62 saves in his two starts against Lake Forest last weekend, stopping 38 shots in Friday's 3-3 tie, while kicking out 24 in the rematch the following day. … Nast heads into the weekend with a 3.39 goals-against-average and an .899 save percentage. … With his 38-save effort against Lake Forest last Friday, Nast has now stopped 30 or more shots eight times in the last two seasons. … The Cardinals — picked to finish sixth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll — made their third MIAC Tournament appearance in the last five years a year ago. The Cardinals kicked off post-season play with a 5-2 win over Concordia, before falling to Augsburg 8-1 in the semifinals.
 
Scouting The UW-Superior Yellowjackets:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Final Statistics
• The Yellowjackets enter Friday's season-opener against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 10-14-3 season a year ago — including a 3-3-2 showing in WIAC play. … The Yellowjackets — whose 10 wins last season were the most since the 2013-14 season — were picked to finish third in the WIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. … Troy York, a First-Team All-WIAC selection a year ago, was the Yellowjackets' leading scorer, netting team-highs in goals (13) and points (23). … Artur Terchiyev led the team in assists with 11, one more than York, Troy MacTavish, and Jordan Martin. … York was one of eight Yellowjackets to record 10 or more points last season, being joined by Chad Lopez (17), Terchiyev (17), MacTavish (17), Andrew Durham (13), Daniel Litchke (13), Martin (12), and Will Blake (10). … Eight of York's team-leading 13 goals came on the power play. … York also led the Yellowjackets with five game-winning goals in 2018-19. … Oscar Svensson — UW-Superior's other First-Team All-WIAC selection a year ago — compiled a team-leading 1.85 goals-against-average and .949 save percentage in 11 starts. … Svensson made a combined 101 saves in the Yellowjackets' WIAC semifinals at UW-Eau Claire, including a 51-save 2-0 shutout in the first game of the series on Feb. 22. … A.J. Smith also saw plenty of time between the pipes for the Yellowjackets last season, boasting a 3.20 GAA and .897 save percentage in 13 starts. … Svensson finished the year with a team-leading 375 saves, two more than Smith. … UW-Superior was outscored in every period last season — 23-19 in the first, 25-24 in the second, and 27-26 in the third. … UW-Superior scored first in all 10 of its wins last season, going 10-4-1 when netting the game's first goal. The Yellowjackets finished 0-10-2 when their opponent struck first. … UW-Superior played10 games decided by one-goal or less last season, going 4-3-3. … UW-Superior went into overtime five times in 2018-19 — losing to St. Olaf (3-2) and UW-Eau Claire (3-2), while tying Lake Forest (3-3), UW-Stout (1-1), and UW-River Falls (1-1).