By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team concludes its two-game MIAC series against Hamline on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to TRIA Rink for a 7 p.m. rematch with the Pipers.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-6-2 MIAC, 6-13-3 Overall) vs. Hamline Pipers (2-9-2 MIAC, 4-15-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 8, 2019 * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals scored twice in the second period and once more in the third, as Saint Mary's picked up its third straight Friday night win, beating the Pipers 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out their regular-season schedule with a pair of games against St. Olaf next weekend. Saint Mary's will host the Oles in a 7 p.m. conference matchup next Friday, with the two teams then traveling to the St. Olaf Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for the 7:30 p.m. rematch the following day.
• Hamline: The Pipers wrap up their 2018-19 season with a home-and-away MIAC series against St. Thomas next weekend. HU entertains the Tommies in a 7 p.m. game at TRIA Rink on Friday, before heading to St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for Game 2 on Saturday, also at 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018 Roster | 2018 Schedule | 2018 Statistics
• Friday's game against Hamline was the eighth home game in the last 10 contests for the Cardinals, who are 4-5-0 on their home ice this season. … Saint Mary's heads into Saturday's rematch against Hamline holding the fifth and final MIAC Playoff spot with three conference games remaining. Saint Mary's is three points in front of Bethel (which has just one game left in its regular-season schedule) and five points up on Gustavus. … 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). … 
 
Thanks to Friday's 3-1 win over Hamline, the Cardinals are now 7-5-2 in their last 14 games. … Friday's 3-1 win over Hamline marks the 16^th time in 22 games that the outcome was decided by two goals or less. The Cardinals have played in eight one-goal contests and have had six going into overtime. … Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), and Ryan Charko (Warren, N.J.) picked up the Cardinals' three goals in Friday's 3-1 win over Hamline. … Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) — who recorded his first collegiate three-point game in the Cardinals' 4-1 win over Bethel on Feb. 1 with a goal and two assists — picked two more helpers against Hamline on Friday. … Tommy Stang heads into Saturday's rematch 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.) collected his team-leading 12^th assists against Hamline Friday. Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) is second with 10 helpers. … Along with his team-high nine goals, Tommy Stang also leads the team in points with 17, followed by Sikich (15), Jack Stang (14), Liverance (13), Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta / 12), Robertson (12), Meeh (11), DiBacco (10), and Jack Hatton ( / 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 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 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 17 saves against Hamline Friday. … Nast owns six games of 30 of more saves, including a season-high 38-save effort against Bethel last Saturday. … Nast — who collected his first collegiate assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26 — heads into Saturday's rematch against Hamline with a 2.84 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 3.15 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 13 of their 22 games, going 6-5-2 in those 13 contests. Saint Mary's is 0-8-1 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 (0-9-3) 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 was the third road contest in the last four games for the Pipers, who are still looking for their first road win of the season (0-12-2). … 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. … Brandon Zajicek scored the Pipers' lone goal in Friday's 3-1 loss to Saint Mary's. … Weiland Parrish enters Saturday's rematch 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 owns a team-high 11 points, one more than Martin. … Hamline has scored just nine 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 3.48 goals-against-average and .893 save percentage in 12 appearances, while Robert owns a 4.42 GAA and .863 save percentage in 11 outings. … Nelson has amassed 357 saves, with Robert close behind at 233. … 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 18 of its 22 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 1-13-1 when its opponent scores first. … The Pipers are 1-0-1 when leading after two periods, while going 1-14-1 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).