By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey returns to Dave Torrey Arena Saturday, as the Cardinals close out the regular season with the second game of their two-game MIAC series against Saint Benedict. Game time is set for 2 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-10-2 MIAC, 8-13-3 Overall) at Saint Benedict Bennies (6-11-0 MIAC, 11-11-1 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 21, 2020 * Dave Torrey Arena * St. Cloud, Minn.: Saint Benedict scored the game's only goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation to deal the Cardinals a 1-0 conference setback — and force Saint Mary's into a must-win situation in Saturday's rematch with the Bennies | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Saint Benedict — A Year Ago:
• November 30, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Saint Mary's put an end to its five-game losing streak — and picked up its first conference win of the season in the process — as the Cardinals cruised to a 3-0 win over the Bennies | Recap
• December 1, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Saint Benedict scored the game's first four goals — including those three in the first period — as the Bennies handed the Cardinals a 5-1 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saturday's game is the regular-season finale for both the Cardinals and Bennies. Saint Mary's can clinch its second straight MIAC Tournament berth on Saturday and the No. 5 seed with a win and losses by both Bethel and St. Catherine.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• The Cardinals' 1-0 loss to Saint Benedict Friday, snapped their two-game winning streak and three-game unbeaten run (2-0-1). … Saint Mary's loss to the Bennies Friday marked just the second time this season the Cardinals have failed to score at least one goal. SMU also dropped a 3-0 decision to St. Thomas on Jan. 18. … Six of the Cardinals' last nine games have been decided by one goal or less — while 17 of their 24 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. Saint Mary's is 7-7-3 in those 17 contests. … With their 8-1 win over St. Olaf on Feb. 14, the Cardinals have now recorded six of their eight wins — and two of their three ties — at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. Saint Mary's 3-1 win over St. Olaf last Saturday was just the Cardinals' second road win of the season. … Last weekend's 8-1, 3-1 wins over St. Olaf gave the Cardinals their first conference sweep of the season — and second sweep overall. Saint Mary's took both games against St. Norbert in their nonconference series on Jan. 10-11. … The Cardinals' eight goals against St. Olaf on Feb. 14 were the most since Saint Mary's netted eight in blanking Hamline 8-0 on Feb. 25, 2004. … The Cardinals' eight goals against St. Olaf on Feb. 14 came from seven different players — including collegiate firsts from Sydney Green (East Bethel, Minn.) and Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.). … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) — who recorded her first collegiate two-goal game last Friday against St. Olaf — also scored one of Saint Mary's three goals in the rematch against the Oles, with Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.) and Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) accounting for the other two. … Along with her first collegiate goal against St. Olaf last Friday, Modjeski also added a career-best three assists to her first collegiate goal for her first-ever four-point game. … Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.), Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.), Natalie Ryan (Village of Lakewood, Ill.), and Green all had a goal and an assist against the Oles on Feb. 14. … With Moser's effort against St. Olaf on Feb. 14, Saint Mary's has had a player score two goals in a game four times this season, being joined by Hafiz against St. Thomas on Jan. 17, Delaney Calabrese (West Dundee, Ill.) v. St. Norbert on Jan. 10, and Zebro v. Concordia on Nov. 15. … Hafiz has posted a multiple-goal game four times in her collegiate career, while Zebro's two-goal game against Concordia on Nov. 15 was her third. … Saint Mary's has had seven players score their first collegiate goals this season — Modjeski, Green, Avrey Simonson's (Waupaca, Wis.), Calabrese, Kaley Manglitz's (Onalaska, Wis.), Sam Carlson (St. Paul, Minn.), and Amber Miller (Kasson, Minn.). … Hafiz enters this weekend's conference series against Saint Benedict leading the team in goals with a single-season career-high 12, while also leading the team in points with 18. … Moser leads the team in assists with 10, and is second to Hafiz in both goals (7) and points (17). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) recorded a career-high 54 saves in the Cardinals' 3-3 tie with No. 5 Hamline on Feb. 8. The 54 saves were 10 more than her previous career best — and the most by a Cardinal goalie since Ashley Corcoran stopped 56 Gustavus shots on Feb. 3, 2017. … Ziakas — who made 38 saves against Saint Benedict on Friday — enters Saturday's rematch against the Bennies boasting a 2.69 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage in 13 appearances. … Ziakas has made 30 or more saves eight times in her collegiate career. …  Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.), who stopped 41 Augsburg shots on Jan. 31 — two saves shy of her career-high 43-save showing against Adrian on Nov. 3, stopped 28 St. Olaf shots in last Saturday's rematch. … Keeley, who has made 30 or more saves in a game six times in her first two years as a Cardinal, boasts a 2.30 goals-against-average and a .930 save percentage in 12 appearances. … Saint Mary's finished with a season-high 53 shots on goal in its 4-2 win over Marian on Jan. 5. It was the most shots on goal since putting 53 on net against Hamline on Feb. 25, 2004. … With their 3-3 tie against Hamline on Feb. 8, the Cardinals have now played five overtime games this season — going 1-1-3. Along with their tie against Hamline, Saint Mary's dropped a 3-2 decision to Bethel, beat St. Norbert, tying both UW-Stevens Point and Gustavus — with both games ending 2-2. … Last weekend's games against No. 5 Hamline marked the sixth and seventh time this season the Cardinals have faced a team ranked in the USCHO.com Poll. Along with last weekend's 6-1 loss and 3-3 tie against Hamline, 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 … 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. … The Cardinals' 5-2 loss to St. Thomas on Jan. 17 snapped their three-game winning streak and four-game unbeaten streak (3-0-1). … The Cardinals' three-game winning streak was their longest since the 2015-16 season, while their four-game unbeaten run was the longest since going 3-0-1 during the 2014-15 campaign. … Saint Mary's has scored first in 13 of its 23 games, going 4-6-3. The Cardinals are 4-6-0 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 5-1-2 when leading after two periods, while going 1-8-1 when trailing after two. … 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 Saint Benedict Bennies:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• The Bennies' 1-0 win over Saint Mary's Friday snapped their two-game losing streak, and improved them to 4-3-0 in their last seven contests. … Saint Benedict has collected eight of its 11 wins this season at home. The Bennies are 8-4-0 on their home ice, while going 3-7-1 away from Dave Torrey Arena. … Mollie Wise scored the game's only goal in Friday's 1-0 win over Saint Mary's. It was her team-leading 14th goal of the season, with Annika Brodt and Rylan Bistodeau second with eight each. … Along with her eight goals, Brodt also owns the team lead in both assists (12) and points (20). … Brodt is one of five Bennies with 10 or more points this season, being joined by Wise (17), Julie Pias (14), Rylan Bistodeau (12), and Emily Lemker (10). … Saint Benedict has scored nine power-play goals this season — led by Wise and Bistodeau with three each. …Wise and Bistodeau also lead the Bennies in game-winning goals with three apiece. … Saint Benedict has used three different goalies this season, led by Alley Frantzick, who has compiled a 2.41 goals-against-average and .927 save percentage in a team-high 11 starts. … Maggie Gilchrist (2.68 GAA, .918 save %) has started six games and Kailee Medved (1.60 GAA. .926 save %) has made five starts. … Saint Benedict is unbeaten (10-0-1) when scoring the game's first goal, while going just 1-11-0 when its opponent scores first. … CSB has played 10 games decided by two goals or less — including eight one-goal games and one that ended in a tie. On the flip side, the Bennies have played 13 games decided by three or more goals — going 6-7 in those 13 contests. … Saint Benedict has scored three or more goals in a game nine times this season — including a season-high six-goal effort in beating Finlandia 6-0 on Jan. 10. … CSB has posted four shutouts this season. Along with Friday's 1-0 win over Saint Mary's, the Bennies have also blanked St. Catherine (3-0) and Finlandia twice (6-0, 5-0). The Bennies have also been shut out three times — falling to Bethel (3-0) and Augsburg twice (5-0, 4-0).