By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey returns to conference play on Friday, traveling to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Arena for the first game of the teams' two-game MIAC series. Opening face-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-0-0 MIAC, 2-4-1 Overall) at Gustavus Gusties (1-1-0 MIAC, 4-4-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — November 26, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: No. 13 MSOE scored two minutes into the third period, breaking a 2-2 tie and sending the Raiders to a 3-2 nonconference win over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• Gustavus — November 22-23, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn./Minneapolis, Minn.: The Gusties picked up a key conference split against nationally ranked Augsburg, falling to the Auggies 3-1 on their home ice on Nov. 22, before scoring a pair of unanswered goals for a 2-1 win in the rematch at Ed Saugestad Rink the following evening | AUG Recap 1 * AUG Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
• October 26, 2018 * Schwan's Super Rink * Blaine, Minn.: The Gusties took advantage of six power-play opportunities — scoring a pair of goals in those six changes — in dealing the Cardinals a 3-1 nonconference setback during the opening day of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase | Recap
• January 25, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) stopped all 28 shots he faced in recording his first collegiate shutout — and Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored for the Cardinals — as Saint Mary's posted a 2-0 MIAC win over the Gusties | Recap
• January 26, 2019 * Don Roberts Ice Arena * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus scored five goals — including three in the third period — as the Gusties earned a split in the teams' two-game MIAC series, handing the Cardinals a 5-1 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game at Gustavus marks the fifth road game in the last six contests for the Cardinals, who are 2-2-0 away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena this season. … Saint Mary's 3-2 loss to No. 13 Milwaukee School of Engineering on Nov. 26 snapped their two-game winning streak. On the flip side, the Cardinals' 3-2 overtime win over Concordia on Nov. 15 snapped their four-game, season-opening winless streak (0-3-1) — it was also the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal head coach Ryan Egan. … Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) scored the Cardinals' two goals in their 3-2 loss to MSOE on Nov. 26. … Meeh has now scored in back-to-back games, and owns a team-high four goals this season — and has recorded at least one point in all four games he's played in this year. … Hanson, Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta), and Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) are all second to Meeh in goals with two each. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), who owns three, two-assist games this season, leads the Cardinals with seven helpers, two more than both Tommy Stang and Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.). … Jack Stang leads the team with eight points, one more than brother Tommy and two in front of both Meeh and Wilhelm. … Saint Mary's boasts six players who have recorded their first collegiate goals this season — Hanson, Wilhelm, Magnavite, Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia), Ian Currie (Franklin, Wis.), and Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.). … The Cardinals have had a multiple-goal scorer twice this season — Meeh against Concordia on Nov. 23 and Magnavite against Lake Forest on Nov. 1. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) posted his first three-point game of the season against Lake Forest on Nov. 2, scoring once and assisting on the Cardinals' other two goals in the 4-3 loss. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who stopped all 26 shots he faced in the Cardinals' 5-0 win over Concordia on Nov. 16 en route to his first shutout of the season, and second of his collegiate career — made 30 saves against MSOE on Nov. 26. … Nast has now stopped 165 shots in six starts this season. … With his 30-save effort against MSOE on Nov. 26, Nast has now stopped 30 or more shots nine times in the last two seasons. … Nast enters this weekend's matchup against Gustavus with a 3.08 goals-against-average and a .902 save percentage. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) recorded 32 saves — nine in relief against UW-Superior on Nov. 8 and 23 in his first start of the season against UW-Eau Claire the following day. … Parker Swanson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Rogers against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 9 — it was his first collegiate appearance in goal. … Nine of the Cardinals' 18 goals this season have been scored in the first period. On the flip side, 12 of Saint Mary's opponents' 24 goals have come in the game's final 20 minutes. … The Cardinals' 3-2, 5-0 sweep of Concordia on Nov. 15-16 marked the first time since Nov. 12-13, 2010 that Saint Mary's has swept the Cobbers. … With their 3-2 loss to MSOE on Nov. 26, the Cardinals have now played 12 games decided by one goal or less — including eight that have gone into overtime — over the past two seasons. … Saint Mary's has scored first in three of its seven games, going 1-2-0. The Cardinals are 1-2-1 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 1-0-1 when leading after two, while going 0-2-0 when trialing heading into the third period. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Gusties, who are winless (0-3-0) on their home ice this season. … GAC's 2-1 win over nationally ranked Augsburg on Nov. 23 snapped their three-game losing streak. … After scoring nine goals in back-to-back wins over Lawrence (5-2, 4-3) to open the season, Gustavus has managed just six goals in its last six games. … Tyler Ebner, Logan Morgan, and Taylor Anderson scored the Gusties' three goals in their MIAC split against Augsburg on Nov. 22-23. … Norman's goal against Augsburg on Nov. 23 was his team-leading fourth of the season. … Anderson and Tyler Rock share the team lead with four assists, while also sitting atop the team's points lead with six each. … Seven Gusties have accounted for 14 of the team's 17 goals. … Eight of the Gusties' 17 goals have come via special teams — seven power-play goals and one shorthanded tally. … Rock owns two of the Gusties' four game-winning goals, with Anderson and Connor Clemons netting the other two. … Gustavus has used three different goalies this season — Robbie Goor (5 GP, 2.22 GAA, .932 save %), Justin Damon (3 GP, 1.64 GAA, .951 save %), and Filip Grancarov (1 GP, 2.97 GAA, .885 save %). … Goor owns a team-best 138 saves, followed by Damon with 78 and Grancarov with 23. … Damon stopped all 33 shots he faced en route to shutting out UW-Stout on Nov. 9. … The Gusties have played one overtime game this season — beating Lawrence 4-3 on Nov. 2. … Gustavus is 2-0-0 when scoring first, while going 2-4-0 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … GAC is a perfect 4-0-0 when leading after two periods, but are 0-3-0 when trailing heading into the game's final 20 minutes.