By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday, as the Cardinals entertain Bethel in the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-3-0 MIAC, 6-7-1 Overall) vs. Bethel Royals (3-2-2 MIAC, 4-10-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• January 24, 2020 * Schwan's Super Rink * Blaine, Minn.: Nick Ketola scored 2:37 into overtime, lifting Bethel to a 4-3 conference win over the Cardinals | Recap
 
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:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals kick off their two-game conference series against nationally ranked Augsburg on Friday at 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The two teams will then head to the Auggies' Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for the 7 p.m. rematch the following evening.
• Bethel: The Royals hit the road next weekend, traveling to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of MIAC games against Concordia. Friday's action will kick off at 7 p.m., with Saturday's second game of the two-game MIAC series set for 2 p.m. the following afternoon.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game at Bethel marked 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 5-4-0 away from the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Friday's 4-3 loss to Bethel was the Cardinals' fourth overtime game of the season — and their first loss. Saint Mary's owns OT wins over Concordia (3-2) and Gustavus (5-4), while battling Lake Forest to a 3-3 tie. … The Cardinals head into Saturday's rematch against Bethel having won five of their last eight. Saint Mary's had its season-high three-game winning streak snapped with its 5-4 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 10. … Saint Mary's nine points against Bethel Friday — three goals and six assists — came from nine different players, including goals from Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.), Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.), and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta). … The Cardinals boasted four players who picked up two points against UW-Stout on Jan. 17 — 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. … Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) 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. … With his goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, Meeh pushed his team goal-scoring lead to eight, two more than Stoynich and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.). … Jack Stang, who recorded his fifth two-assist game this season against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, leads the team in both assists (15) and points (18). … Tommy Stang (14), Meeh (14), and Stoynich (13) have all cracked the 10-point barrier this season. … With his goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, 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 Schultz. … 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 22 Bethel shots on Friday. … 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 Saturday's Game 2 against Bethel boasting a 2.95 goals-against-average and an .898 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 17-14 in the second and 22-15 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. … With their 4-3 overtime loss to Bethel Friday, the Cardinals have now played 17 games decided by one goal or less — including 10 that have gone into overtime — over the past two seasons. … Saint Mary's has scored first in eight of its 16 games, going 4-4-0. 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 4-3 overtime win over Saint Mary's on Friday snapped their eight-game winless streak (0-6-2). The Royals had put an end to their six-game losing streak with last Saturday's 2-2 tie against ninth-ranked Augsburg. … Bethel's 6-0 loss to Augsburg on Jan. 17 marked the fourth time this season the Royals have been shut out. … Nick Ketola scored two goals against Saint Mary's on Friday — including the OT game-winner — while Luke Posner and Kosiah Roen netted the Royals' other two goals. … Posner has now scored in back-to-back games for the Royals. … Josiah Roen heads into Saturday's rematch against Saint Mary's leading the team with seven goals, two more than Jarrett Cammarata. … Dylan Giorgio and Curtis Hansen share the team lead in assists with nine each, while the duo also sit atop the team points lead with 10 each. … Cammarata has netted two of the Royals' four game-winning goals, with Roen and Ketola 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 2.96 GAA and a .918 save percentage in seven 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 201. … The Royals have been outscored 74-34 — including 28-8 in the third period. … Bethel has scored first in seven of its 18 games, going 2-3-2, while the Royals own a 2-8-1 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 four of Bethel's wins have been determined by two goals or less — with the Royals scoring three goals in three of those victories — while 10 of the Royals' 11 losses have been by three goals or more. … BU has played five overtime games this season, going 1-1-3.