By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team closes out its final regular-season two-game MIAC series on Friday, as the Cardinals head to the St. Olaf Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. clash with the Oles.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-7-2 MIAC, 7-14-3 Overall) vs. St. Olaf Oles (3-10-2 MIAC, 5-16-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 15, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's got scoring from five different players, as the Cardinals locked up the fifth and final MIAC Playoff berth, downing St. Olaf 5-2 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: Fueled by Friday's 5-2 win over the Oles, Saint Mary's locked up the fifth and final MIAC Playoff berth and will be on the road to open post-season play next Thursday. Opponent and location will be determined following all of Saturday's MIAC action.
• St. Olaf: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the final game of the season for the Oles.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game was the final home game of the season for the Cardinals, and the final collegiate home game for graduating seniors Ryan Charko (Warren, N.J.) and Austin Arnold. … With their win over St. Olaf Friday, the Cardinals clinched an MIAC Playoff berth for the third time in the last five years. The Cardinals will be on the road to open post-season play next Thursday. Opponent and location will be determined following all of Saturday's MIAC action. … With their 5-2 win over St. Olaf Friday, the Cardinals have now won their last four Friday night games — also beating Gustavus (2-0), Bethel (4-1), and Hamline (3-1). On the flip side, last 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' 24 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. … The Cardinals' five goals against St. Olaf Friday came from five different players — Carter Dahl (Fresno, Calif.), Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.), Charko, and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.). … Charko has now scored goals in three consecutive games — becoming the fifth Cardinal player to score goals in at least three straight games. Sikich had his team-leading four-game goal-scoring streak snapped against UW-Stout on Jan. 17. Hatton, Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario), Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) have also had three-game goal-scoring streaks this season. … Along with his third-period goal, Hatton also had a pair of assists vs. the Oles en route to his first collegiate three-point contest. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) — 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. … Sikich 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's goal against St. Olaf Friday was his team-leading 11^th of the season. Sikich is second in goals with eight, one more than Hatton. … 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 11 goals, Tommy Stang also leads the team in points with 20, followed by Jack Stang (16), Sikich (16), Hatton (14), Meeh (14), Robertson (13), Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta / 13), and DiBacco (11). … 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). … 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 eight players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Dahl, Liverance, Hatton, Stoynich, Sikich, Lance Herning (St. Charles, Ill.), Holden Biebel (Englewood, Colo.), and Tucker Chapman (Rochester, Minn.). … Saint Mary's has netted 19 power-play goals this season, with Tommy Stang leading the way with six. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who made 22 saves against St. Olaf on Friday — 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 Saturday's showdown against St. Olaf with a 2.79 goals-against-average and a .903 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 14 of their 24 games, going 7-5-2 in those 14 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-9-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is 7-1-0 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 was the Oles' second straight road game — the Oles have managed just one win (1-10-3) away the St. Olaf Ice Arena this season. … Friday's 5-2 loss to Saint Mary's officially eliminated the Oles from MIAC Playoff contention. … 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). … Luke Ranallo and Dylan Kooner scored the Oles' two goals in Friday's 5-2 loss to Saint Mary's. … Tyler Bump, Chris Koziel, and Mitch Dolter share the team lead in goals with five each. … Roshen Jaswal has dished out a team-leading 10 assists and also leads the Oles with 12 points, four more than Bump, Ranallo, and Tukka Totro. … St. Olaf has scored 10 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 3.18 goals-against-average and .918 save percentage in a team-high 16 starts, while Hancock boasts a 3.43 GAA and .897 save percentage in eight starts. … Parker has made 609 saves, with Hancock chipping in 217. … The Oles have been outscored 81-44 through 24 games — including 24-11 in the first period, 27-13 in the second, and 30-19 in the third. … St. Olaf has been held to two goals or less in all 16 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 24 games, going 2-3-0. The Oles are 3-13-2 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).