By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team is back on the road on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Hobbs Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against UW-Eau Claire.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-2-1 Overall) at UW-Eau Claire Blugolds (1-0-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• Saint Mary's­­—November 8, 2019 * Wessman Arena * Superior, Wis.: UW-Superior scored seven unanswered goals, as the Yellowjackets dealt the Cardinals a 7-0 nonconference setback | Recap
• UW-Eau Claire—November 8, 2019 * Hobbs Ice Arena * Eau Claire, Wis.: The Blugolds erupted for five second-period goals in rolling to a 7-2 nonconference win over St. Olaf | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. UW-Eau Claire — Their Last Meeting:
• November 10, 2018 * Hobbs Ice Arena * Eau Claire, Wis.: UW-Eau Claire rattled off three unanswered goals — erasing an early 1-0 Saint Mary's lead — and dealing the Cardinals a 3-1 nonconference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of games against Concordia. The Cardinals and Cobbers will square off at 7 p.m. Friday evening, before going at it again Saturday at 2 p.m.
• UW-Eau Claire: The Blugolds hit the road for the first time this season next weekend. UW-Eau Claire heads to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 nonconference matchup against Gustavus, before traveling to Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., to take on Augsburg at 7 p.m. the following evening.
 
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. … UW-Superior's seven goals in Friday's 7-0 win over Saint Mary's were the most allowed by the Cardinals since surrendering seven to Saint John's on Dec. 1, 2017. … Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his first — and second — collegiate goals in the Cardinals' 3-3 tie against Lake Forest on Nov. 1, 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 on Nov. 2. … Along with his first-period goal, Stang also assisted on Saint Mary's other two goals in its 4-3 loss to Lake Forest on Nov. 2. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) each picked up two assists in the Cardinals' 3-3 tie with the Foresters on Nov. 1. … 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 Saturday's matchup against UW-Eau Claire with a 4.67 goals-against-average and an .886 save percentage. … With his 38-save effort against Lake Forest on Nov. 1, Nast — who added 22 saves against UW-Superior on Friday — 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-Eau Claire Blugolds:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Saturday's matchup against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game to open the season for the Blugolds, who play their next four contests away from Hobbs Arena. … UW-Eau Claire is coming off a 19-7-2 showing a year ago — including a trip to the WIAC Commissioner's Cup title game, falling to UW-Stevens Point 3-2. … The Blugolds enter the weekend ranked No. 12 in the USCHO.com Preseason Poll. … UW-Eau Claire kicked off its season with a 1-1, overtime tie against Saint John's last Saturday. … Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's is the third of five straight games against teams from the MIAC for the Blugolds, who have already played Saint John's (T, 1-1) and St. Olaf (W, 7-2), and face Gustavus and Augsburg on the road next weekend. … Adam Pasells recorded UW-Eau Claire's first goal of the season, scoring at 3:41 of the first period in UW-Eau Claire's 1-1, season-opening tie against Saint John's last Saturday. … Zach Dyment stopped 17 of the 18 shots he faced against Saint John's last Saturday, while adding 21 saves — including 13 in the third period — against St. Olaf on Friday. … Jake Bresser scored a pair of goals in the Blugolds' 7-2 win over St. Olaf on Friday, while Cole Paskus, Jack Murphy, Tyler Tomberlin, Logan Von Ruden, and Charlie Weland also found the back of the net. … Andrew McGlynn picked up assists on three of UW-Eau Claire's seven goals against St. Olaf Friday. … McGlynn heads into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the team with two goals, with Von Ruden, Tomberlin, Parsells, Weland, Murphy, and Paskus all scoring once. … Von Ruden and McGlynn share the team lead with three points, one more than Bresser, Tomberlin, Parsells, Weland, and Jon Richards. … UW-Eau Claire has outscored its first two opponents 8-3 — including 2-0 in the first period and 5-2 in the second. … UW-Eau Claire has scored first in both games this season.