By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off post-season play on Thursday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Rink for a 7 p.m. showdown against Gustavus in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal game.
 
The Matchup:
• #5 Saint Mary's Cardinals (6-8-4 MIAC (5th), 9-10-6 Overall) at #4 Gustavus Gusties (11-3-4 MIAC (T-3rd), 15-5-5 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | Live Video | Tournament Homepage
 
Ticket Information:
• Admission to all MIAC Tournament games are $10 for Adults and $2 for students while children 5 & under are free. There is no senior discount. MIAC Passes will be honored. No other passes are to be accepted.
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 15-16, 2019 * Northfield, Minn./Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals picked up a pair of conference wins — and locked up their MIAC Tournament berth in the process — beating St. Olaf 4-3 at the St. Olaf Ice Arena last Friday, before recording a 2-1 victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena the following afternoon | STO Recap 1 * STO Recap 2
• Gustavus—February 15-16, 2019 * St. Cloud, Minn.: The Gusties picked up a pair of wins at Dave Torrey Arena to close out the regular-season, beating host Saint Benedict 3-1 last Friday, before outshooting the Bennies 58-14 in a 5-0 victory the following afternoon | CSB Recap 1 * CSB Recap 2
 
How They Got Here:
• Gustavus: The Gusties — nationally ranked for much of the season — closed out the regular-season with a pair of wins over Saint Benedict, leaving GAC tied with Augsburg for third place in the conference standings. A 3-0 loss and 2-2 tie to the Auggies earlier in the year, however, dropped GAC into the fourth spot in the five-team post-season field.
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals headed into the final weekend of the regular-season needing a sweep of St. Olaf — and Augsburg to take three of four points from Concordia — to earn a post-season berth. Saint Mary's did its part, posting a pair of one-goal wins over the Oles — 4-3 on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday — and the Auggies did their part, sweeping Concordia 2-0 and 4-0, to earn the Cardinals the No. 5 seed.
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Earlier This Year:
• January 25, 2019 * St. Peter, Minn.: Coming off a 1-0 shutout win over St. Catherine, the Cardinals pitched a fourth straight shutout period to open their MIAC series against Gustavus. That shutout string came to an abrupt end, however, as 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 at Don Roberts Ice Rink | Recap
• January 26, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals found themselves in a rather familiar position in their MIAC game against Gustavus — heading into overtime. 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 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The winner of Thursday's MIAC Tournament quarterfinal game earns a date opposite regular-season champion and top-seeded St. Thomas. The Tommies — the nation's No. 1-ranked team — will host either Saint Mary's or Gustavus in a 2 p.m. semifinal matchup Saturday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Cardinals will be making their first MIAC Tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season — when Saint Mary's dropped a 3-1 decision to Concordia — and their 11th post-season appearance in program history. … Saint Mary's heads into Thursday's MIAC Tournament opener against Gustavus 3-2-2 in its last seven games, the lone losses both come at the hands of fourth-ranked Hamline. … Saint Mary's closed out the regular season having gone 4-5-5 in its 14 road games, while sporting a 5-5-1 record on its home ice. … With their 4-3 and 2-1 wins over St. Olaf last weekend, nine of the Cardinals' last 12 games have been decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals' six ties this season equal the single-season school record, last accomplished during the 2011-12 season, when Saint Mary's finished the year 7-12-6. … Saint Mary's four goals against St. Olaf last Friday came from four different players — Lauren Rogers (Barrington, Ill.), Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.). … Sheridan added her second goal in as many games — the game-winner midway through the third period — in the rematch with the Oles last Saturday, while Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) netted the other tally. … Ryan heads into Saint Mary's post-season opener owning the team lead with eight goals, one more than Zebro, and two in front of both Sheridan and Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) recorded her first collegiate three-assist game in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over St. Olaf last Friday, giving the junior a team-leading 13 helpers this season. … Along with her team-high eight goals, Ryan also shares the team lead in points (15) with Moser, while Wendt (14) and Chrastka (12) have also recorded 10 or more points this season. … Zebro recorded her second collegiate two-goal game on Jan. 8 against nationally ranked UW-River Falls, scoring the first two of the Cardinals' three goals vs. the Falcons. Zebro also had a two-goal game against Marian on Oct. 27. … Wendt had her season- and career-high three-game goal-scoring streak snapped in the Cardinals' loss to Hamline on Feb. 9. … Saint Mary's 43 goals this season have come from 11 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Saint Mary's nine game-winning goals this season have come from six different players — Ryan (2), Zebro (2), Moser, Sheridan, Chrastka, Kourtney Jancze (Stillwater, Minn.), and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.). … The Cardinals boast six players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Zebro, Chrastka, Jancze, Sheridan, Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.), and Lauryn Folker (Cody, Wyo.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) made a season-high 37 saves against Gustavus on Jan. 26. … Ziakas' 37-save effort against the Gusties on Jan. 26 was just four shy of her career high. … Ziakas heads into Thursday's post-season game against Gustavus boasting a 1.87 goals-against-average and a .927 save percentage in 12 appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in four games and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) — who recorded a season-high 31 saves against Hamline on Feb. 9 — has compiled a 3.07 GAA and .896 save percentage in 10 starts. … Ziakas leads the goalie corps with 328 saves, with Keeley second with 225. … All three Cardinal goalies have posted at least one shutout this season. Keeley stopped all 28 shots she faced in Saint Mary's 1-0 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 19 — it was her second shutout of the season. The freshman also stopped all 16 shots in notching her first collegiate shutout — in her first collegiate start — against Marian on Oct. 27. Corcoran stopped all 22 shots she faced against Saint Benedict on Nov. 30 en route to her first shutout of the season and second of her collegiate career; while Ziakas posted her first collegiate shutout in the Cardinals' first meeting with UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 8, stopping all 24 Pointer shots. … Corcoran finished with a season-high 39 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20 — including 20 in the game's opening 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's games against fifth-ranked Hamline on Feb. 8-9 were the fifth and sixth against a nationally ranked opponent this season. The Cardinals also played a pair of games against then-No. 9 St. Thomas on No. 9-10, faced then-No. 10 UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 20, and squared off against then-sixth-ranked UW-River Falls on Jan. 8. … Six of the nine goals scored between Saint Mary's and Saint Benedict on Nov. 30-Dec. 1 were scored in the first period. The Cardinals scored all three of their goals in their 3-0 win vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 20 in the opening period, while the Bennies netted three of their five tallies in their 5-1 win the following day in the game's first 20 minutes. … Saint Mary's has scored first 13 times this season — including eight of its nine wins and five of its six ties. The Cardinals recorded their first win (1-10-1) when their opponent scores first against St. Olaf last Friday. … Saint Mary's is 8-1-2 when leading after two periods, but are winless (0-8-1) when trailing heading into the third period. … The Cardinals' six goals in their 6-3, season-opening win over St. Norbert equaled their single-game season high from a year ago. … The Cardinals' 6-3 loss to nationally ranked UW-River Falls on Jan. 8 was their final nonconference game of the season. Saint Mary's finished 3-2-2 in its seven non-league games. … With their 6-3 season-opening win over St. Norbert on Oct. 26, the Cardinals have now won their season-opener in each of their last four seasons. … Thanks to their 6-3 win over St. Norbert and 4-0 victory over Marian, the Cardinals have now swept those two teams to open each of the last three seasons.
 
Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• The Gusties are making their 19th appearance in the MIAC Tournament — the only conference tournament GAC did not qualify for was in 2015-16. … The Gusties head into post-season play as one of the hottest teams in the conference, having gone 6-0-2 in their last eight games — including four straight wins to close out the regular-season. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 19-3 during its current four-game winning streak. … Three of Gustavus' five losses this season — vs. Hamline (L, 3-2), vs. UW-River Falls (L, 2-1), vs. St. Thomas (L, 3-1) have come against nationally ranked opponents — and have all been by two goals or less. …  Allie Stanger and Amelia Vosen enter post-season play as the team's goal-scoring leaders with 13 and 11 goals, respectively. … Kristina Press leads the Gusties with 10 assists — one more than Stanger, Lilia Scheid, and Kayla Vrieze — while Stanger owns a team-high 22 points. … Stanger is one of six Gusties with 10 or more points on the season — Vosen (17), Scheid (17), Press (17), Stephanie Anderson (12), and Vrieze (12) are the others. … Gustavus has gotten game-winning goals from nine different players — led by Vosen with four and Stanger with three. … Gustavus' 68 goals this season have come from 17 different players, while 22 Gusties have recorded at least one point. … Amanda DiNella has been the workhorse between the pipes for the Gusties appearing in 24 of the team's 25 games. She has compiled a 1.43 goals-against-average and a .936 save percentage. … DiNella has made 496 saves and has recorded four shutouts. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents in all three periods — 19-10 in the first, 21-10 in the second, and 27-14 in the third. … The Gusties are 12-1-4 when scoring first, while going 3-4-1 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … GAC is 11-1-4 when leading after two periods, but are just 1-3-0 when trailing heading into the game's final 20 minutes. … Gustavus has played six one-goal games, going 4-2-0, and has been involved in 10 games decided by three goals or more (8-2-0). … Gustavus has scored a season-high six goals twice this season — beating Saint Mary's 6-0 in their first meeting on Jan. 25, while dropping Concordia 6-1 on Feb. 8. … Gustavus has played six overtime games this season — posting a 1-1-4 record. … Gustavus has played seven games against nationally ranked opponents this season. GAC split a pair of overtime games against then-No. 4 Hamline (L, 3-2; W, 2-1); lost twice to then-No. 5 UW-River Falls (L, 2-1; L, 4-0); beat then-No. 9 UW-Eau Claire (W, 3-1); and lost and tied No. 4 St. Thomas (L, 3-1; T, 2-2).