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 two-game MIAC series against Hamline on Friday, as the Cardinals play host to the Pipers in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-6-2 MIAC, 5-13-3 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (2-8-2 MIAC, 4-14-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's—February 1-2, 2019 * Winona, Minn./Blaine, Minn.: The Cardinals split their conference series against Bethel last weekend, as Saint Mary's collected a 4-1 win over the Royals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena last Friday, before dropping a 5-2 decision on the Royals' home ice at the Schwan's Super Rink the following evening | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
• Hamline—January 25-26, 2019 * Blaine, Minn./St. Paul, Minn.: The Pipers battled Bethel to a conference split in their two-game series. BU erupted for seven goals in routing the Pipers 7-1 at the Schwan's Super Rink on Jan. 25, while the Pipers salvaged a split iwht a 2-1 victory the following day at TRIA Rink | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• February 9, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: The Cardinals scored a pair of goals in both the first and third periods in rolling to a 4-2 MIAC victory over the Pipers at TRIA Arena | Recap
• February 10, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals entered their rematch with Hamline unbeaten in its last seven contests — going 5-0-2 during that stretch. Unfortunately, in a game marred by high emotions and a boat-load of penalties, the Cardinals' good fortunes came to an end, as the Pipers handed the Cardinals a 4-3 setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Pipers are back on the ice on Saturday, as the two teams head to TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against Hamline is the eighth home game in the last 10 contests for the Cardinals, who are 4-5-0 on their home ice this season. … With their 4-1 win and 5-2 loss against Bethel last weekend, the Cardinals have now split their last three MIAC series — Saint Mary's posted a 2-0 win and 5-1 loss to Gustavus on Jan. 25-26, while falling 5-2 and winning 7-2 against Concordia on Jan. 11-12. … Saint Mary's has now surrendered five goals in each of its last two losses. … The Cardinals head into this weekend's contests against Hamline having gone 6-5-2 in their last 13 games. … Saint Mary's 4-1 win and 5-2 loss against Bethel last weekend were just the fifth and sixth times this season that the outcome was not decided by two goals or less. The Cardinals have played in eight one-goal contests and have had six going into overtime. … Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) recorded his first collegiate three-point game in the Cardinals' 4-1 win over Bethel last Friday — Sikich scored once and assisted on two others. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), Lance Herning (St. Charles, Ill.), and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) all had a goal and an assist against the Royals last Friday, while Tommy Stang and Holden Biebel (Englewood, Colo.) netted Saint Mary's two goals in last Saturday's 5-2 loss. … Herning's third-period tally against Bethel last Friday and Biebel's third-period goal vs. the Royals last Saturday were their first in a Cardinal uniform. … Tommy Stang heads into this weekend's conference games against Hamline owning the team lead in goals with nine — two more than Sikich, and three in front of Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) and Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.). … Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) is the team's assist leader with 11, one more than Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.). … Along with his team-high nine goals, Tommy Stang also leads the team in points with 17, followed by Jack Stang (14), Liverance (13), Sikich (13), Stoynich (12), Robertson (12), and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo. / 10). … Meeh 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. … 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 Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.), who all had three-game 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 — Herning, Liverance, Hatton, Stoynich, Sikich, Biebel, and Tucker Chapman (Rochester, Minn.). … Saint Mary's has netted 17 power-play goals this season, with Tommy Stang leading the way with five. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who recorded his first collegiate shutout against Gustavus on Jan. 25, stopping all 28 shots he faced — finished with 31 saves against Bethel last Friday, and added a season-high 38-save effort against the Royals the following evening. … Nast now owns six games of 30 or more saves this season. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into this weekend's games against Hamline with a 2.96 goals-against-average and a .902 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 3.15 GAA and .910 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 12 of their 21 games, going 5-5-2 in those 12 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-8-1 when its opponent nets the game's first goal. … Saint Mary's is 5-1-0 when leading after two periods, but the Cardinals are still searching for their first win (0-9-3) 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 Hamline Pipers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Statistics | 2018-19 Schedule
• Friday's matchup at Saint Mary's is the third road contest in the last four games for the Pipers, who are still looking for their first road win of the season (0-11-2). … Hamline's 2-1 win over Bethel in their last game on Jan. 26 snapped the Pipers' 13-game winless streak (0-11-2). During that 13-game span, HU had losing streaks of two, four, and five games. … Bailey Martin scored Hamline's lone goal in its 7-1 loss to Bethel on Jan. 25, while Mitch Hall and Don Carter Jr. netted HU's two goals in its 2-1 win over the Royals the following day. … Weiland Parrish enters this weekend's matchup against Saint Mary's leading the team in goals with eight, three more than both Martin and Mitch McPherson. … Martin, McPherson, and Mitch Bentfield share the team's assist lead with five each, while Parrish and Martin are the Pipers' points leaders with 10. … Hamline has scored just eight power-play goals this season, led by Parrish with four. … Parrish and Tommy Hall own Hamline's two game-winning goals. … Sam Nelson and Evan Robert have shared the goaltending duties this season. Nelson sports a 3.51 goals-against-average and .890 save percentage in 12 appearances, while Robert owns a 4.42 GAA and .863 save percentage in 11 outings. … Nelson has amassed 324 saves, with Robert close behind at 2333. … Nelson has been in goal for both of the Pipers' wins and owns a 31-save shutout against Gustavus on Nov. 16. … The Pipers have been outscored 83-38 through 21 games — 24-10 in the first period, 33-12 in the second, and 26-15 in the third. … Hamline has been held to two goals or less in 17 of its 21 games this season — the lone exceptions, a 4-1 win over Saint John's on Nov. 9, and three-goal efforts in a pair of losses to Augsburg (5-3 and 6-3) and a 3-3 tie vs. Milwaukee School of Engineering. … Hamline has scored first seven times this season, going 2-4-1 in those seven contests. HU is just 1-12-1 when its opponent scores first. … The Pipers are 1-0-1 when leading after two periods, while going 1-13-1 when their opponent leads heading into the game's final 20 minutes. … Hamline has played five one-goal games, going 2-3-0. HU is 0-3 in three-goal games, and 1-10-0 in game's decided by four or more goals. … Hamline has played four overtime games this season — beating Gustavus 1-0, falling to Trinity (2-1), and tying MSOE (3-3) and St. Olaf (2-2).