By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team kicks off its final regular-season two-game MIAC series on Friday, as the Cardinals host St. Olaf in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-7-2 MIAC, 6-14-3 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (3-9-2 MIAC, 5-15-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Senior Salute: Web * PDF | MIAC Playoff Scenarios
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 8-9, 2019 * Winona, Minn./St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals split their two conference games against Hamline last weekend. Saint Mary's opened the two-game series with a 3-1 win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, but Hamline answered, recording a 7-4 win the following event at TRIA Rink | HU Recap 1 * HU Recap 2
• St. Olaf—February 8-9, 2019 * Northfield, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Oles earned a split in their two-game MIAC series against Bethel last weekend. St. Olaf dropped a 4-1 decision in the opener at the St. Olaf Ice Arena, before bouncing back with a 3-1 win at the Schwan's Super Rink the following evening | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Olaf — A Year Ago:
• February 16, 2018 * Northfield, Minn.: The Cardinals — facing several different playoff scenarios heading into the first game of their two-game conference series against St. Olaf — made things a lot simpler, thanks to their 3-2 win over the Oles. With the Cardinals' win — and Augsburg's 6-3 victory over Concordia — Saint Mary's heads into its final game of the regular-season needing at least as many points against St. Olaf as Concordia gets in its rematch with Augsburg to secure an MIAC Playoff berth | Recap
• February 17, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: St. Olaf officially eliminated Saint Mary's from post-season contention, scoring three times in the third period — before netting game-winner with 2:01 remaining in overtime — to lift St. Olaf to a 4-3 victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Oles are back on the ice on Saturday, as the two teams head to St. Olaf Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 7:30 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game is the final home game of the season for the Cardinals, meaning their two graduating seniors — Ryan Charko (Warren, N.J.) and Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska) — will be playing in from of the home crowd at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the final time. … Saint Mary's heads this weekend's final two-game MIAC series of the regular-season holding the fifth and final MIAC Playoff spot. The Cardinals need one win — or losses by both Gustavus and Hamline — to clinch their third post-season appearance in the last five seasons. Augsburg (11-1-2), Concordia (9-3-2), St. Thomas (7-2-5), and Saint John's (7-4-3) have already secured the other four playoff spots. … With their 3-1 win over Hamline Friday night the Cardinals have now won their last three Friday night games — beating Gustavus (2-0), Bethel (4-1), and Hamline (3-1). On the flip side, Saturday's 7-4 loss to the Pipers was their third straight Saturday setback — falling to Gustavus (5-1), Bethel (5-2), and Hamline (7-4). … Sixteen of the Cardinals' 23 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. The Cardinals have played in eight one-goal contests and have had six going into overtime. … Charko and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) each scored goals in both of the Cardinals' games against Hamline last weekend, while Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) netted Saint Mary's other goal in its 3-1 win last Friday, and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) also found the back of the net in last Saturday's 7-4 loss to HU. … Meeh — who collected his first collegiate two-goal game with a pair of tallies 25 seconds apart in Saint Mary's 4-4 tie against Lake Forest on Nov. 24 — added a pair of assists to his second-period goal against Hamline last Saturday for his first three-point game of the season, and second of his collegiate career. … Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) recorded his first collegiate three-point game in the Cardinals' 4-1 win over Bethel on Feb. 1 with a goal and two assists. … Tommy Stang heads into this weekend's series against St. Olaf owning the team lead in goals with 10 — three more than Sikich, and four in front of DiBacco, Meeh, Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) and Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.). … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) — who had two assists vs. the Pipers last Saturday — shares the team lead in assists (12) with Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.). … Along with his team-high 10 goals, Tommy Stang also leads the team in points with 18, followed by Jack Stang (16), Sikich (15), Liverance (14), Meeh (14), Robertson (13), Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta / 13), DiBacco (11), and Hatton (10). … Jack Stang was held off the scoresheet in Saint Mary's 5-1 loss to Gustavus on Jan. 26, snapping his season- and career-high five-game point streak (3 G, 4 A). … Sikich had his four-game goal-scoring streak snapped against UW-Stout on Jan. 17. Sikich was the fourth Cardinal to put together a consecutive-game goal-scoring streak of three or more games, joining Liverance, Hatton, and DiBacco, who all had three-game goal-scoring streaks this season. … Liverance had a hand in all three goals — scoring once and assisting on the other two — in Saint Mary's 5-3 loss to St. Thomas on Nov. 3. … All three of the Cardinals' goals in their 3-3 tie against St. Thomas on Nov. 2 were scored by freshmen. Liverance picked up his first two collegiate goals, while Hatton scored the other. … Saint Mary's boasts seven players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Liverance, Hatton, Stoynich, Sikich, Lance Herning (St. Charles, Ill.), Holden Biebel (Englewood, Colo.), and Tucker Chapman (Rochester, Minn.). … Saint Mary's has netted 18 power-play goals this season, with Tommy Stang leading the way with five. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) recorded his first collegiate shutout against Gustavus on Jan. 25, stopping all 28 shots he faced. … Nast owns six games of 30 of more saves, including a season-high 38-save effort against Bethel on Feb. 2. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into Friday's showdown against St. Olaf with a 2.84 goals-against-average and a .904 save percentage. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) finished with 37 saves in the Cardinals' 5-3 loss to Concordia on Jan. 11. The 37-save showing against the Cobbers marked the fourth time in six starts that Rogers has stopped 30 or more shots — including a season- and career-high 43 against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 10. … Rogers boasts a 3.59 GAA and .898 save percentage. … Saint Mary's 2-0 win over Gustavus on Jan. 25 was the first shutout of the season for the Cardinals — and the first since blanking the Gusties 1-0 on Jan. 26, 2018. … Saint Mary's seven-goal outburst in its 7-2 win over Concordia on Jan. 12 was a season-high — and marked the highest single-game goal total since scoring seven against UW-Stout in a 7-4 win on Jan. 19, 2018. … The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to UW-Superior on Dec. 7 snapped their streak of three straight overtime games. … The Cardinals have scored first in 13 of their 23 games, going 6-5-2 in those 13 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-9-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is 6-1-0 when leading after two periods, but the Cardinals are still searching for their first win (0-10-3) when trailing heading into the game's final period. … Six of Saint Mary's first 10 opponents were nationally ranked — including a 3-2 loss to No. 1 UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 9.
 
Scouting The St. Olaf Oles:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Friday's game at Saint Mary's is the Oles' second straight road game — and their final road game of the season. St. Olaf heads into Friday's showdown with Saint Mary's just 1-9-3 away from the St. Olaf Ice Arena this season. … St. Olaf heads into this weekend's final two regular-season games against Saint Mary's still alive in the MIAC Playoff chase. The Oles must win both games against the Cardinals — and have Gustavus and Hamline both lose at least once. … Last Saturday's 3-1 win over Bethel not only knocked the Royals out of the conference playoff hunt, but also put an end to the Oles' five-game losing streak and six-game winless streak (0-5-1). … Caleb Callaway scored St. Olaf's lone goal in last Friday's 4-1 loss to Bethel, while Emil Hiiri, Tyler Bump, and Jesse Lawman found the back of the net in St. Olaf's 3-1 win over the Royals the following evening. … Bump's goal against Bethel last weekend moved him into a tie with Chris Koziel and Mitch Dolter for the team lead with five goals each. … Roshen Jaswal has dished out a team-leading 10 assists and also leads the Oles with 12 points, four more than Bump and Tukka Totro. … St. Olaf has scored nine power-play goals — led by Tobias Gabrielsen with three and Totro and Kyle Rimbach with two each — while Callaway and Dolter have netted St. Olaf's two shorthanded tallies. … Dolter has netted two of the Oles' six game-winning goals, with Rimbach, Callaway, Tyler Burro, Sawyer Jacobson own the other four. … Noah Parker and Eric Hancock have shared the goaltending duties, with Parker compiling a 3.16 goals-against-average and .919 save percentage in a team-high 16 starts, while Hancock boasts a 3.49 GAA and .900 save percentage in seven starts. … Parker has made 565 saves, with Hancock chipping in 197. … The Oles have been outscored 76-42 through 22 games — including 23-10 in the first period and 26-13 in the second. … St. Olaf has been held to two goals or less in all 15 of its losses this season. … St. Olaf scored a season-high five goals in beating Hamline 5-2 on Jan. 18 — it's the only time this season the Oles have scored more than three goals in a game. … St. Olaf has scored first in five of its 22 games, going 2-3-0. The Oles are 3-12-2 when their opponent scores first. … The Oles have played seven one-goal games — going 3-4-0. … St. Olaf has played in three overtime games — beating UW-Superior (3-2) and tying Gustavus (3-3) and Hamline (2-2).