By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns to conference play on Friday, traveling to the Schwan's Super Rink for a 7 p.m. MIAC showdown against Bethel.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2-0 MIAC, 7-7-1 Overall) at Bethel Royals (2-3-3 MIAC, 3-11-3 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Video
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — January 17-18, 2020 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals went 1-1 in their final two nonconference games of the season last weekend, rolling to a 5-1 win over UW-Stout on Friday, before falling to UW-River Falls 4-0 the following day | UWS Recap * UWRF Recap
• Bethel — January 17-18, 2020 * Schwan's Super Rink/Ed Saugestad Rink * Blaine/Minneapolis, Minn.: The Royals went 0-1-1 in their two-game conference series against ninth-ranked Augsburg. BU was blanked 6-0 in Game 1 on its home ice, before battling the high-powered Auggies to a 2-2 deadlock in the rematch | Augsburg Recap 1 * Augsburg Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
• February 1, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals — fueled by Owen Sikich's (Wolfeboro, N.H.) first collegiate three-point game — handed Bethel a 4-1 conference setback | Recap
• February 2, 2019 * Schwan's Super Rink * Blaine, Minn.: For the second straight week, the Cardinals kicked off their two-game MIAC series with a win on their home ice — beating Bethel 4-1. Unfortunately, for the second straight week, the Cardinals closed out their weekend series with a road loss, as Bethel jumped out to a 2-0 first-period, and Saint Mary's never recovered in falling to the Royals 5-2 | Recap
 
Up Next:
• The Cardinals and Royals head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game at Bethel marks the 11th time in their last 15 games that the Cardinals have been on the road. Saint Mary's is 2-4-1 on their home ice this season, while going 5-3-0 away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With last weekend's 5-1 win over UW-Stout and 4-0 loss to UW-River Falls, the Cardinals head into this weekend's games against Bethel having won five of their last seven. Saint Mary's had its season-high three-game winning streak snapped with its 5-4 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 10. … The Cardinals boasted four players who picked up two points against UW-Stout last Friday — Alex Rickoff (Winona, Minn.) and Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) each had a goal and an assist, while Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ill.) each recorded two assists. … Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta), Ian Currie (Franklin, Tenn.), and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) netted Saint Mary's other three goals vs. the Blue Devils. … Meeh's goal against UW-Stout last Friday gives the senior three goals and three assists in the Cardinals' last four games. … Meeh scored two goals in Saint Mary's 5-4 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 10, then added three assists in the Cardinals' 4-1 win the following evening, earning the senior his second MIAC Athlete of the Week honor. … Meeh's two-goal effort against St. Thomas on Jan. 10 marked the second time this season — and third time in his collegiate career — that the senior has netted two goals in a game. His three-assist showing the following evening was also a career-high. … Stoynich was held without a point in last Saturday's loss to UW-River Falls, snapping his season- and career-high point-scoring streak at six games. Stoynich had three goals and five assists during that six-game span. … With his goal against UW-Stout last Friday, Meeh pushed his team goal-scoring lead to eight, two more than Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.). … Jack Stang, who recorded his fifth two-assist game this season against UW-Stout last Friday, leads the team in both assists (14) and points (17). … Tommy Stang (13), Meeh (13), and Stoynich (10) have all cracked the 10-point barrier this season. … With his goal against UW-Stout last Friday, Rickoff became the ninth Cardinal to net his first collegiate goal this season — joining Lindauer, Currie, Robert Roslund (Vanersborg, Sweden), Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.), Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.), Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.), Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia), and Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.). … The Cardinals have had a multiple-goal scorer four times this season — Meeh vs. Concordia on Nov. 23 and vs. St. Thomas Friday, Jack Stang against Williams on Jan. 3, Meeh against Concordia on Nov. 23, and Magnavite against Lake Forest on Nov. 1. … Meeh and Tommy Stang have each scored shorthanded goals this season. … Al Rogers (New Haven, Conn.) — who recorded his first collegiate shutout, a 30-save showing against No. 10 Oswego on Jan. 3 — kicked out 21 UW-Stout shots last Friday and made 14 saves against UW-River Falls the following evening. … Rogers has posted 30 or more saves three times this season — including a season-high 37 saves against No. 14 Williams on Jan. 4 — and eight times in his collegiate career. … Rogers heads into this weekend's two-game series against Bethel boasting a 2.84 goals-against-average and a .903 save percentage. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.), who has compiled a 3.42 goals-against-average and an .888 save percentage in seven starts, has stopped 30 or more shots nine times in the last two seasons. … Parker Swanson (Eden Prairie, Minn.), who stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Rogers against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 9 — his first collegiate appearance in goal — made eight saves in relief of Nast against Gustavus on Dec. 6. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 13-12 in the first period, but have been outscored 16-13 in the second and 20-13 in the third. … The Cardinals' 3-2, 5-0 sweep of Concordia on Nov. 15-16 marked the first time since Nov. 12-13, 2010 that Saint Mary's has swept the Cobbers. … Saint Mary's 5-4 win over Gustavus on Dec. 7 was its third overtime game of the season — the Cardinals opened the season with a 3-3 tie against Lake Forest on Nov. 1 and added a 3-2 win over Concordia on Nov. 15. … With their 5-4 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 10, the Cardinals have now played 16 games decided by one goal or less — including nine that have gone into overtime — over the past two seasons. … Saint Mary's has scored first in seven of its 15 games, going 4-3-0. The Cardinals are 3-4-1 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 5-0-1 when leading after two, while going 0-4-0 when trialing heading into the third period. … Both of Saint Mary's wins at the Pathfinder/Oswego State Hockey Classic on Jan. 3-4 came against nationally ranked foes — No. 10 Oswego and No. 14 Williams. … Rogers, Tommy Stang, and Jack Stang were all named to the Pathfinder/Oswego State Hockey Classic all-tournament team, with Rogers being named tournament MVP. … The Cardinals' 3-2 overtime win over Concordia on Nov. 15 snapped their four-game, season-opening winless streak (0-3-1) — it was also the first collegiate coaching win for Cardinal head coach Ryan Egan. … The Cardinals — picked to finish sixth in the MIAC Preseason Coaches Poll — made their third MIAC Tournament appearance in the last five years a year ago. The Cardinals kicked off post-season play with a 5-2 win over Concordia, before falling to Augsburg 8-1 in the semifinals.
 
Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Bethel's 2-2 tie against ninth-ranked Augsburg snapped the Royals' six-game losing streak — but extended their winless streak to eight (0-6-2). BU has now won since beating Hamline 3-2 on Dec. 6. … With their two-goal effort against Augsburg last Saturday, Bethel has now scored two goals in four of its last six games. … Bethel's 6-0 loss to Augsburg last Friday marked the fourth time this season the Royals have been shut out. … Curtis Hansen and Luke Posner netted BU's two goals in last Saturday's 2-2 tie against No. 9 Augsburg. … Josiah Roen heads into this weekend's conference series against Saint Mary's leading the team with six goals, one more than Jarrett Cammarata. … Dylan Giorgio is the team's assist leader with eight, while he and Cammarata share the team leading points with nine. … Cammarata has netted two of the Royals' three game-winning goals, with Roen netting the other. … The Royals have used three different goalies this season, led by Ridge Gerads, who owns a 4.07 goals-against-average and .885 save percentage in team-high 12 starts. Joe Sheppard has compiled a 2.98 GAA and a .919 save percentage in six appearances, while Liam Murray boasts a 5.31 GAA and .841 save percentage in three appearances. … Gerads has made a team-high 324 saves, followed by Sheppard with 170. … The Royals have been outscored 71-30 — including 26-6 in the third period. … Bethel has scored first in seven of its 17 games, going 2-3-2, while the Royals owns a 1-8-1 mark when their opponent nets the game's opening goal. … BU is 2-1-2 when leading after two periods, while going 0-9-0 when trailing heading into the game's final stanza. … All three of Bethel's wins have been determined by two goals or less — with the Royals scoring three goals in all three victories — while 10 of the Royals' 11 losses have been by three goals or more. … BU has played four overtime games this season, going 0-1-3.