By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team closes out its two-game conference series against Hamline on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain the Pipers in 4 p.m. rematch at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-7-4 MIAC, 7-9-6 Overall) at #5/6 Hamline Pipers (12-1-2 MIAC, 18-1-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats | Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 8, 2019 * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline scored a pair of goals in each period, as the nationally ranked Pipers cruised to a 6-1 conference win over Saint Mary's at TRIA Rink | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• February 9, 2018 * Winona, Minn.: HU entered Game 1 of its two-game series against Saint Mary's on the heels of a 13-4 rout of Concordia in their last outing. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Pipers' offensive firepower did not end with that shelling of the Cobbers, as Hamline erupted for four goals — including three in the second period — in dealing the Cardinals a 4-2 setback at Saint Mary's Ice Arena | Recap
• February 10, 2018 * St. Paul, Minn.: For the second straight game, the Pipers' offense came to life in a big way, erupting for four second-period goals and adding another in the third in rolling to a 6-0 conference win over the Cardinals at TRIA Rink | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals close out the regular-season portion of their schedule next weekend with a pair of conference games against St. Olaf. Saint Mary's heads to the St. Olaf Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Oles next Friday, before the two teams head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the rematch at 4 p.m. the following afternoon.
• Hamline: The Pipers wrap up their regular-season schedule next weekend with two games against league-leading St. Thomas. HU heads to the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for Friday's 7 p.m. opener, with the two teams traveling across town to TRIA Rink for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals: 
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game at Hamline was the seventh road game in the last 11 contests for the Cardinals, who are 3-5-5 away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena this season. … The Cardinals' 6-1 loss to nationally ranked Hamline Friday was just the second time in the last nine games that the outcome was not decided by one goal or less. … The Cardinals have now gone into overtime in seven of their last 12 games — including six that have ended in ties. … The Cardinals' six ties this season tie the single-season school record, last accomplished during the 2011-12 season, when Saint Mary's finished the year 7-12-6. … Bailey Wendt (Coon Rapids, Minn.) netted the Cardinals' only goal against Hamline Friday, pushing her consecutive-game goal-scoring streak to three straight — the senior also scored a goal in both games against Bethel last weekend. … Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.) heads into Saturday's rematch with Hamline leading the team with seven goals, one more than both Wendt and Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) picked up her team-leading 10th assist of the season against Bethel last Saturday. … Ryan and Wendt share the team lead in points with 13, one more than Moser, while Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) is fourth with 10. … 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. … Saint Mary's 37 goals this season have come from 11 different players, while 15 Cardinals have recorded at least one point. … Saint Mary's seven game-winning goals this season have come from five different players — Ryan (2), Moser, Zebro, 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 — Jancze, Zebro, Chrastka, Lexie Budensiek (Farmington, Minn.), Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Lauren Folker (Cody, Wyo.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) — who made a season-high 37 saves against Gustavus on Jan. 26 — finished with 29 saves against Hamline Friday evening. … Ziakas' 37-save effort against Gustavus on Jan. 26 was just four shy of her career high. … Ziakas heads into Saturday's matchup against Hamline boasting a 1.85 goals-against-average and a .932 save percentage in 10 appearances, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) owns a 2.02 GAA and .935 save percentage in three games and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) has compiled a 2.68 GAA and .907 save percentage in a team-leading nine starts. … Ziakas leads the goalie corps with 3-2 saves, with Keeley second with 194. … 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. … Keeley posted a career-high 29 saves in Saint Mary's 4-1 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 17. … Saint Mary's game against fifth-ranked Hamline Friday was the fifth 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 11 times this season — including all seven of its wins and five of its six ties. The Cardinals are still searching for their first win (0-10-1) when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 7-1-2 when leading after two periods, but are winless (0-7-1) 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 Hamline Pipers:
2018-19 Roster | 2018-19 Schedule | 2018-19 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's was the third straight home game for the Pipers, who are now 12-1-1 on their home ice this season. … Hamline enters this weekend's two-game series against Saint Mary's ranked fifth in the latest USCHO.com poll, while sporting a No. 6 ranking in the D3hockey.com Top 10. … After opening the season with a five straight wins, HU suffered its lone setback, falling to Gustavus 2-1 in overtime on Nov. 17. Since then, Hamline has gone 13-0-3 in its last 16 games. … Hamline's 10-goal outburst in its 10-0 win over Concordia on Feb. 1 was a single-game season high. … With their 6-1 win over Saint Mary's Friday, the Pipers — who have already locked up one of the five MIAC Playoff berths — have scored six or more goals in a game nine times this season. … Bre Simon — who picked up five points (2 G, 3 A) in HU's 10-0 win over Concordia on Feb. 1 — had a goal and three assists against Saint Mary's on Friday. … Leah Schwartzman scored twice vs. Saint Mary's Friday, with Olivia Arkell, Molly Garin, and Jordan Hansen also scoring for the Pipers vs. SMU. … Simon heads into Saturday's game at Saint Mary's owning a team-leading 22 goals. Simon is one of four Pipers who have scored 10 or more goals this season — Molly Garin (15), Schwartzman (13), and Hansen (10) are the other three. … Simon also leads the team in assists (29) and points (51). … Simon's 51 points are tops among NCAA Division III. … Hamline boasts six players — Simon (29), Schwartzman (20), Jordan Hansen (16), Dani Perry (16), Garin (14), and Wright (12) — with 10 or more assists, while Simon (51), Schwartzman (33), Garin (29), Hansen (26), Wright (18), Perry (17), Katie Carlson (14), Madison Kolbow (13), and Becca Zarembinski (10) have all posted 10 or more points through 22 games. … Hamline has scored 30 power-play goals and has also netted three shorthanded tallies. Garin leads the team with six power-play goals, one more than Simon. … McKenna Hulslander has been the workhorse between the pipes for the Pipers, compiling a 1.64 goals-against-average and a .924 save percentage in 16 starts. Jeala O'Brien (0.92 GAA, .927 save %) has started Hamline's other six games in goal. … Hulslander has made 318 saves, while O'Brien has chipped in 76 saves. … Hamline heads into Saturday's game at Saint Mary's averaging 4.50 goals- and 40.5 shots-per-game. … HU has outscored its opponents 100-32 — including 28-9 in the first period. … Hamline has scored first in 17 of its 22 games, going 14-1-2. HU is 4-0-1 when its opponent scores first. … The Pipers are a perfect 15-0-0 when leading after two periods, while sporting a 2-0-2 record when trailing heading into the third period. … Hamline has played six overtime games this season — beating UW-Superior (2-1) and Gustavus (3-2), while also losing to the Gusties (2-1) and tying UW-Eau Claire (2-2), Augsburg (2-2), and Bethel (4-4).