By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, as the Cardinals host nationally ranked Gustavus in the first game of their two-game MIAC series. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-2-0 MIAC, 2-5-0 Overall) vs. No. 4 Gustavus Gusties (4-0-0 MIAC, 7-0-0 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — November 22-23, 2019 * Winona, Minn./St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals split their conference series against St. Catherine, scoring single goals in each period in beating the Wildcats 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Nov. 22, while SCU scored four unanswered goals in earning the MIAC split with a 4-1 victory at the Drake Arena the following afternoon | SCU Recap 1 * SCU Recap 2
• Gustavus — November 22-23, 2019 * Minneapolis, Minn./St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties picked up their second straight MIAC sweep with a pair of wins against Augsburg. GAC dealt the Auggies a 4-2 setback at Ed Saugestad Rink on Nov. 22, before completing the sweep with a 1-0 victory on their home ice at Don Roberts Ice Arena the following day | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
• January 25, 2019 * Don Roberts Ice Arena * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus erupted for three goals in the first 3:18 of the second period — including back-to-back goals 23 seconds apart — as the Gusties dealt the Cardinals a 6-0 setback | Recap
• January 26, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: For the fourth time in their last six games, the Cardinals finished 60 minutes of regulation deadlocked — this time a 1-1 stalemate with Gustavus. And for the fifth time this season, the game would remain a tie, as Saint Mary's and Gustavus closed out their two-game conference series with a 1-1 decision | Recap
• February 21, 2019 * Don Roberts Ice Arena * St. Peter, Minn.: The Cardinals, making their first post-season appearance since 2016, could not stifle Gustavus' high-powered offensive attack, as the Gusties scored twice in the second period and three more times in the third in dealing Saint Mary's a 5-0 setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Gusties now head to Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for Saturday's second game of the teams' two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their 3-1 win and 4-1 loss to St. Catherine on Nov. 22-23, the Cardinals have now split their first two conference series — winning the first game and dropping the second each time. … With their 3-1 victory over St. Catherine Friday, the Cardinals have now scored three or more goals in their wins this season — Saint Mary's netted a season-high four goals in beating Concordia 4-3 on Nov. 15. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been held to one goal in each of their last four losses. … With their two games against No. 6 Gustavus, five of the Cardinals' first nine games will be against teams ranked in 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 its 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Nov. 22, while Kayla Henning (Burnsville, Minn.) scored the Cardinals' lone tally in their 4-1 loss in the rematch the following day. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) heads into this weekend's games against Gustavus leading the team with three goals, one more than Henning, 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' 14 goals this season have come on the power play. … Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) finished with 13 saves in the Cardinals' 3-1 win over St. Catherine on Nov. 22, while Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) recorded 15 saves in the teams' rematch. … Keeley enters Friday's game against Gustavus 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. … Ziakas, who made a season-high 36 saves against UW-River Falls on Nov. 9, owns a 2.80 GAA and .904 save percentage. … 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. … Saint Mary's has scored seven of its 14 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 five of its seven games, going 1-4-0 … Saint Mary's is 2-1-0 when leading after two periods, while going 0-3-0 when trailing after two. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Concordia on Nov. 22 was the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal HC Sarah Murray. … Saint Mary's 3-2 loss to Adrian on Nov. 2 snapped its four-year, season-opening winning streak. … 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 Gustavus Gusties:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Gustavus enters this weekend's conference series against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … With their sweep of Augsburg on Nov. 22-23, the Gusties pushed their season-opening winning streak to seven straight. … The Gusties have allowed just four goals through seven games this season — including shutout wins over Concordia-WI (5-0), UW-Eau Claire (1-0), St. Catherine (5-0), and Augsburg (1-0). … Clara Billings enters this weekend's games against Saint Mary's leading the Gusties in goals with five, one more than Kristina Press. … The Gusties 20 goals have come from nine different players. … Molly McHugh owns a team-best six assists, and shares the team lead in points (6) with both Billings and Press. … Billings has netted two of the Gusties' eight game-winning goals, with Press, Kristen Cash, Hailey Holland, Jamie Byrne, and Emily Olson scoring the other six. … Gustavus has scored five power-play goals. On the flip side, the Gusties have not allowed a special teams goal all season. … Gustavus has used three different goalies this season — Emila Helms-Leslie (3 GP, 0.33 GAA, .978 save %), Francesca Gerardi (3 GP, 0.50 GAA, .960 save %), and Katie McCoy (2 GP, 1.00 GAA, .955 save %). … Helms-Leslie has stopped 44 of the 45 shots she's faced, while McCoy owns 42 saves and Gerardi has stopped 24. … The Gusties have outscored their opponents 20-4 — including 9-0 in the second period. … GAC has scored first in all eight games this season.