By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals head to St. Thomas Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown against the Tommies
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (2-3-1 MIAC, 5-6-2 Overall) at St. Thomas Tommies (6-0-0 MIAC, 7-2-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 10-11, 2020 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals pushed their winning streak to three, as they closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with 4-2 and 2-1 wins over St. Norbert | SNC Recap 1 * SNC Recap 2
• St. Thomas — December 6-7, 2019 * St. Thomas Ice Arena * Mendota Heights, Minn.: The Tommies headed into the holiday break in impressive fashion, outscoring Concordia 7-2 in the teams' two-game MIAC series. UST beat the Cobbers 3-1 on Dec. 7, before following that up with a 4-1 win the following afternoon | CC Recap 1 * CC Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
• November 9, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) was near-perfect in her second start between the pipes for the Cardinals, allowing just one goal — a tally with just over six minutes remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the Tommies Mackenzie Torpy did Keeley one better, stopping all 18 Saint Mary's shots, as ninth-ranked St. Thomas dealt the Cardinals a 1-0 setback | Recap
• November 10, 2019 * St. Thomas Ice Arena * Mendota Heights, Minn.: For the second game in a row, the Cardinals could not find a way to get the puck past St. Thomas goalie Mackenzie Torpy — and the Tommie offense erupted for three third-period goals in dealing Saint Mary's a 4-0 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Tommies head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday. Opening face-off is set for 3 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game at St. Thomas is the first road game of 2020 for the Cardinals, who have played their last four games on their home ice. … Saint Mary's has recorded all five of its wins — and both of its ties — at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 4-2, 2-1 sweep of St. Norbert last weekend, the Cardinals have now won three straight and are unbeaten (3-0-1) in their last four. … The Cardinals' three-game winning streak is their longest since the 2015-16 season, while their four-game unbeaten run is the longest since going 3-0-1 during the 2014-15 campaign. … Saint Mary's has held its last four opponents to two goals or less. Along with their 4-2 and 2-1 wins over St. Norbert, the Cardinals also surrendered two goals in their 2-2 tie vs. UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 4 and their 4-2 win over Marian the following day. … Thanks to last Friday's 4-2 win over St. Norbert, effort, the Cardinals have now scored a season-high four goals three times this season — having also beaten Concordia 4-3 on Nov. 15 and Marian 4-2 last Sunday. … Delaney Calabrese (West Dundee, Ill.) scored her first two collegiate goals against St. Norbert in last Friday's 4-2 win, with Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) and Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) netting the other two. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) and Kaley Manglitz (Onalaska, Wis.) accounted for Saint Mary's two goals in its 2-1 overtime win over the Green Knights the following day. … Manglitz's OT game-winner against St. Norbert last Saturday was her first in a Cardinal uniform. … Calabrese and Manglitz are the third and fourth players to record their first collegiate goal this season, being joined by Sam Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.) and Amber Miller (Kasson, Minn.). … With her two goals against St. Norbert last Friday, Calabrese became the second player to post a two-goal game for the Cardinals, who got a pair of tallies from Zebro against Concordia on Nov. 15. … Zebro's two-goal game in Saint Mary's 4-3 win over Concordia on Nov. 15 was her third collegiate multiple-goal game. The sophomore also scored two goals against both Marian and UW-River Falls last season. … With her assist last Friday, and goal and assist on Saturday, Hafiz has now recorded at least one point in five straight games. … Hafiz enters this weekend's conference showdown against St. Thomas leading the team in goals with six, one more than Zebro, while also leading the team in points with 10. … Moser owns a team-high six assists, two better than Hafiz. … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.), who stopped a season- and career-high 44 shots — including 19 in the third period — against Gustavus on Dec. 6 — made 20 saves against St. Norbert last Friday, while Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) finished with 29 saves the following day.… Ziakas — who has made 30 or more saves five times in her collegiate career — enters Friday's game against St. Thomas boasting a 2.32 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage. … Keeley boasts a 2.60 goals-against-average and a .906 save percentage in six starts. … Keeley finished with a career-high 43 saves in Saint Mary's 4-2 loss to Adrian on Nov. 3. … Keeley's 43-save effort bettered her previous career-high by 12 saves. … Saint Mary's has scored 13 of its 29 goals this season in the second period, where they hold a 13-9 scoring advantage. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been outscored 12-5 in the first period and 15-10 in the third. … Saint Mary's finished with a season-high 53 shots on goal in last Sunday's 4-2 win over Marian. It was the most shots on goal since putting 53 on net against Hamline on Feb. 25, 2004. … With last Saturday's 2-1 win over St. Norbert, the Cardinals have now played three overtime games this season — going 1-0-2. Along with their win over the Green Knights, Saint Mary's has also tied UW-Stevens Point and Gustavus, with both games ending 2-2. … The Cardinals' 2-2 tie against fourth-ranked Gustavus on Dec. 6 marked the third straight year in which Saint Mary's and GAC played to an overtime draw — the Cardinals and Gusties tied 1-1 in each of the last two seasons. … Five of the Cardinals' first nine games this season were against teams ranked in the USCHO.com Poll. Saint Mary's dropped 3-2 and 4-2 games to No. 3 Adrian on Nov. 2-3, while falling to No. 5 UW-River Falls 4-1 on Nov. 9, and tying (2-2) and losing (5-1) to No. 4 Gustavus on Dec. 6-7 … Saint Mary's has scored first in seven of its 13 games, going 1-4-2. The Cardinals are 4-2-0 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 2-1-2 when leading after two periods, while going 1-4-0 when trailing after two. … Eight of the Cardinals' 13 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. … The Cardinals' 4-3 win over Concordia on Nov. 15 was the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal HC Sarah Murray. … Saint Mary's 3-2 loss to Adrian on Nov. 2 snapped its four-year, season-opening winning streak. … The Cardinals, who made their first MIAC Tournament appearance since the 2015-16 season a year ago — and their 11th in program history — were picked to finish sixth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's is the third straight home game for the Tommies, who are unbeaten (5-0-1) at the St. Thomas Ice Arena this season. … After opening the season with a 2-1 loss to St. Scholastica, the Tommies have gone 7-1-3 in their last 11 contests — the lone loss, a 2-1 overtime setback to Lake Forest on Nov. 30. … Both of St. Thomas' losses this season have been by one goal — and both have been 2-1 decisions. … St. Thomas has allowed just five goals combined in its seven wins this season. … Maddy Fiedler enters this weekend's conference series against Saint Mary's leading the Tommies with seven goals, two more than Alyssa Wallace. … Mikayla Kero is the team's assist leader with seven, while Fielder (12) and Wallace (10) sit atop UST's points leader board. … St. Thomas' 39 goals have come from 16 different players, while 19 Tommies have recorded at least one point. … St. Thomas' seven game-winning goals have come from six different players. Rachel Werdin owns two game-winners, with Fiedler, Wallace, Anna Solheim, Kate Winiecki, and Sarah Moy accounting for the other five. … UST owns five special teams goals — three power-play tallies and a pair of short-handed goals. On the flip side, UST has not allowed a power-play goal all season. … Eryn Cooley has started 11 of the team's 12 games in goal, compiling a 1.15 goals-against-average and a .945 save percentage. … Cooley has stopped 224 of the 237 shots she's faced and owns a pair of shutouts. … St. Thomas has outscored its opponents 39-14 — 11-1 in the first period, 18-4 in the second, and 10-7 in the third. … UST has scored first in 11 of its 12 games this season, going 7-2-2. The Tommies are 0-0-1 when their opponent scores first. … St. Thomas owns a 6-2-0 record when leading after two periods, while going 0-0-1 when trailing and 1-0-2 when tied heading into the game's final stanza. … St. Thomas has played four overtime games this season, falling to Lake Forest (2-1), while tying UW-Stevens Point (2-2), UW-River Falls (2-2), and UW-Eau Claire (1-1).