By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
OSWEGO, N.Y. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team sets its sights on the Pathfinder/Oswego State Hockey Classic title on Saturday, as the Cardinals square off against #14 Williams in the title game, set to start at 4 p.m. (EST).
 
The Matchups:
Friday, January 3, 2020 * Marano Campus Center Arena * Oswego, N.Y.
• #14 Williams Ephs 2, #9 University of New England Nor'Easters 1 | Williams Recap | UNE Recap
• Saint Mary's Cardinals 1, #10 Oswego State Lakers 0 | SMU Recap | Oswego Recap
Saturday, January 4, 2020 * Marano Campus Center Arena * Oswego, N.Y.
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-5-1 overall) vs. #14 Williams Ephs (7-2-0), 4 p.m. (EST)
• #10 Oswego (7-4-0 overall) vs. #9 University of New England (9-3-0 overall), 7 p.m. (EST)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | Tournament Homepage 

Last Action:
• Williams/U. of New England — January 3, 2020 * Oswego, N.Y.: Nick Altmann scored his second goal of the day early in the third period to lead #14 William over #9 University of New England 2-1 | Williams Recap | UNE Recap
• Oswego/Saint Mary's — January 3, 2020 • Oswego, N.Y.: Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored with less than 20 seconds remaining in regulation and Al Rogers (New Haven, Conn.) stopped all 30 shots he faced, as the Cardinals knocked off the host Lakers 1-0 | | SMU Recap | Oswego Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Oswego Hockey Classic Field — Their Last Meeting:
• This weekend's games against Oswego and/or Williams/University of New England will be the first in program history for the Cardinals.
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference action next weekend with a pair of games against St. Thomas. Saint Mary's will host the Tommies in a 7 p.m. contest on Friday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, before the two teams head to the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., for the 7 p.m. rematch the following evening.
• Oswego: The Lakers are back in action with a pair of home games next weekend. Oswego hosts Utica in a 7 p.m. matchup at the Marano Campus Center Arena on Friday, before welcoming Elmira the following evening, also at 7 p.m.
• Williams: The Ephs return home to Lansing Chapman Rink in Williamstown, Mass., for a pair of games next weekend. Williams hosts Wesleyan (Conn.) at 7 p.m. on Friday, before welcoming Trinity (Conn.) for a 3 p.m. contest the next day.
• University of New England: The Nor'Easters are back in action on Saturday, heading home to Harold Alfond Forum in Biddeford, Maine, for a 4 p.m. matchup against Morrisville State (N.Y.)
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their two games at the Oswego Tournament, the Cardinals will have played nine of their last 11 games on the road. … The Cardinals' 5-4 win over Gustavus on Dec. 7 was their first home win of the season (1-2-1). … Saint Mary's 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. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) each had a goal and an assist in Saint Mary's 5-4 OT win over Gustavus on Dec. 7, while Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.), Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.), and Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) netted Saint Mary's other three goals. … Meeh's overtime game-winner against Gustavus was his team-leading fifth of the season. The senior has now recorded at least one point in five of the sixth games he's played this season. … Stoynich and Tommy Stang are second to Meeh with three goals each, while Sam Hanson and Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) have both scored twice. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), who owns three, two-assist games this season, leads the Cardinals with eight helpers, two more than brother Tommy, and the Stang duo share the team lead in points with nine each. … Saint Mary's boasts six players who have recorded their first collegiate goals this season — Hanson, Magnavite, Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.), Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia), Ian Currie (Franklin, Wis.), and Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.). … The Cardinals have had a multiple-goal scorer twice this season — Meeh against Concordia on Nov. 23 and Magnavite against Lake Forest on Nov. 1. … Jack Stang posted his first three-point game of the season against Lake Forest on Nov. 2, scoring once and assisting on the Cardinals' other two goals in the 4-3 loss. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) has stopped 174 shots in seven starts this season. … With his 30-save effort against MSOE on Nov. 26, Nast has now stopped 30 or more shots nine times in the last two seasons. … Nast enters Saturday's matchup against Gustavus with a 3.42 goals-against-average and an .888 save percentage. … Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) picked up the win in goal against Gustavus in the Cardinals' last game on Dec. 7. It was his second straight 23-save outing. … 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 10-7 in the first period, but have been outscored 13-5 in the second and 15-6 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 5-4, overtime win over Gustavus on Dec. 7, the Cardinals have now played 13 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 four of its nine games, going 2-2-0. The Cardinals are 1-3-1 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 1-0-1 when leading after two, while going 0-3-0 when trialing heading into the third period. … 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 Oswego State Lakers:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's kicks off a four-game homestand for the Lakers, who are a perfect 4-0-0 on their home ice this season. … Oswego enters this weekend's action ranked No. 10 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … All three of the Lakers' losses this season have come against teams ranked in the USCHO.com Top 10 — and all in a span of 13 days. Oswego dropped a 9-1 decision to then-No. 2 Geneseo, before falling to No. 4 Hobart (4-1) and No. 7 Salve Regina (6-3). … Oswego opened the season with four straight wins, dropped three straight, and have now won three in a row. … Travis Broughman enters tournament play this weekend leading the Lakers with seven goals, while Mitch Emerson, Jody Sullivan, and Colton Fletcher have all scored four. … Anthony Passero has collected a team-best 12 assists and also leads the Lakers in points with 14, one more than Broughman and three in front of Max Novick. … Oswego's 44 goals have come from 16 different players, while 21 of the 22 Lakers to see playing time this season have recorded at least one point. … Josh Zizek and Tyson Kirkby have each scored a team-leading two game-winning goals, with Passero, Emerson, and Fletcher netting the other three. … David Richer has appeared in nine of the Lakers' 10 games in goal, compiling a 2.39 goals-against-average and a .913 save percentage. … Richer has stopped 19 of the 218 shots he's faced and has recorded three shutouts. … Cedric Hansen has played in three games in goal, owning a 4.36 GAA and .816 save percentage with 40 saves. … The Lakers have scored first in seven of their 10 games, going 6-1-0. … Oswego is 7-1-0 when leading after two periods, while going 0-2-0 in games in which the Lakers trailing heading into the game's final 20 minutes. … Oswego has scored a season-high eight goals twice this season — beating Potsdam 8-1 and Plymouth State 8-0. On the flip side, the Lakers allowed a season-high nine goals in falling to Geneseo 9-1.
 
Scouting The Williams Ephs:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• After opening the season with four straight wins, the Ephs have gone 2-2 in their last four games. … Both of Williams' losses this season have been via shutout — the Ephs dropped a 6-0 decision to Babson on Nov. 30, and fell 1-0 to Hamilton on Dec. 6. … Mac Carso scored the first two goals of his collegiate career in helping the Ephs to a 3-1 win over Amherst on Dec. 7 in their last game before the holiday break. … Tyler Scott and Niko Karamanis lead a balanced Williams offensive attack with three goals each, while Will Somers, Myles Cunningham, Nick Altmann, Connor Kucharski, and Carso have all netted two. … Nick Van Belle owns a team-best six assists, one more than Jack McCool and two in front of Will Somers and Jack Forrest, while Van Belle also leads the team in points with seven. … Fourteen Ephs have scored at least one goal, while 16 of the 19 players who have seen playing time have recorded at least one point. … Williams' six game-winning goals have come from six different players — Somers, Altmann, Karamanis, Kucharski, Carso, and Bobby Beniers. … Evan Ruschil and Cosimo Lazzarino have shared the goaltending duties for the Ephs this season. Ruschil has compiled a 1.75 goals-against-average and .953 save percentage in four starts, while Lazzarino owns a 2.01 GAA and .934 save percentage, also in four starts. … Ruschil has made a team-high 149 saves, with Lazzarino close behind with 121. … Williams has scored first in four of its eight games — going a perfect 4-0-0. The Ephs are 2-2-0 when their opponent scores first. … Williams has led after the second period in all six of its wins, but the Ephs are winless (0-2-0) when trailing heading into the third period.
 
Scouting The University of New England Nor'Easters:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their wins over Curry and Western New England just before the holiday break, the Nor'Easters pushed their winning streak to five straight. After opening the season with a 4-0 loss to Norwich, UNE has won nine of its last 10 games — the lone exception, a 4-2 setback to Endicott on Nov. 22. … The Nor'Easters have outscored their opponents 26-8 during its current five-game winning streak. … With their 4-3 and 6-1 wins prior to the break, UNE has now scored four or more goals in all nine of their wins this season. … The Nor'Easters' combined 10 goals in their wins over Curry and WNE in their last action on Dec. 6-7 came from eight different players — Liam Neuman, Jimmy Elser, Ryan Bloom, and Ryan Burr netted UNE's four goals in their 4-3 win over Curry, while Jake Fuss and Austin Morgan scored twice, and Jared Christy and Derek Mecrones netted the other two against Western New England. … Bloom, Morgan, and Brent Hill all enter this weekend's action sharing the team lead with six goals each, one more than Mecrones, and two in front of Burr, Jeff Eppright, and Tyler Seltenreich. … Bloom is also the team-leader in both assists (10) and points (16). … Bloom is one of four Nor'Easters to have accumulated 10 or more points through the season's first 11 games — Mecrones (13), Morgan (12), and Burr (11) are the others. … Morgan and Burr share the team lead with two game-winning goals each. … Three different Nor'Easters goalies have seen action this season, led by Ben Churchfield, who has amassed a 2.10 goals-against-average and .918 save percentage in 10 games. Bryan McGrath (3 GP, 1.84 GAA, .900 save %) and Tate Sproxton (1 GP, 3.00 GAA, .889 save percentage) have also seen time between the pipes this season. … UNE has scored first in eight of its 11 games this season, going a perfect 8-0-0. The Nor'easters are 1-2-0 when their opponent nets the game's first goal. … UNE — which scored a season-high 10 goals in beating Becker 10-2 on Nov. 9 — is 7-0-0 when leading after two periods, while going 1-2-0 when trailing heading into the game's final 20 minutes.