By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team is back in postseason play on Saturday, as the Cardinals head to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Arena for a 2 p.m. MIAC Tournament semifinal game against top-seeded Gustavus.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (10-13-3 Overall) at #4 Gustavus Gusties (20-3-2 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video | MIAC Tournament Homepage
 
The MIAC Tournament Schedule
Quarterfinals | Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 * Mendota Heights, Minn.
No. 5 Saint Mary's 4, No. 4 St. Thomas 1 | Recap
Semifinals | Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020 | 2:00 p.m.
No. 4/5 seed at No. 1 Gustavus
No. 3 Augsburg at No. 2 Hamline
Championship | Saturday, Mar. 7, 2020 | 7:00 p.m.
Highest remaining seed will host
 
Last Action:
• Saint Mary's — February 27, 2020 * St. Thomas Ice Arena * Mendota Heights, Minn.: The Cardinals scored two goals in both the first and third periods, as fifth-seeded Saint Mary's dealt four-seeded St. Thomas a 4-1 setback in the MIAC Tournament quarterfinal game | Recap
• Gustavus — February 21-22, 2020 * Schwan's Super Rink/Don Roberts Ice Arena * Blaine, Minn./St. Peter, Minn.: The Gusties locked up their 16^th MIAC regular-season title with a pair of shutout wins over Bethel, beating the Royals 4-0 in the opener, before completing the sweep with a 3-0 win in the second meeting | BU Recap 1 * BU Recap 2
 
Saint Mary's vs. Gustavus — Earlier This Year:
•  December 6, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: Sophia Zebro (Oak Grove, Minn.) and Lauryn Folker (Cody, Wyo.) scored goals and Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) made 44 saves, as the Cardinals battled No. 4 Gustavus to a 2-2 conference tie | Recap
• December 7, 2019 * Don Roberts Ice Arena * St. Peter, Minn.: Gustavus limited Saint Mary's to just four shots on goal — and a lone third-period tally — in dropping the Cardinals 5-1 to earn a split in the teams' two-game conference series | Recap
 
How They Got Here:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals earned a spot in the conference tournament semifinals with Thursday's 4-1 win over fourth-seeded St. Thomas. They are making their second straight MIAC Tournament appearance — and 13th overall —  after locking up the tournament's final spot with a 4-1 win over Saint Benedict last Saturday that left Saint Mary's 6-10-2 in MIAC play.
• Gustavus: The Gusties — who collected their 16th MIAC regular-season title after finishing with a 15-1-2 conference mark — are back in the postseason for the 20th time in 21 seasons and will be looking for their league-best 12th playoff championship — and first since 2013. 
  
Up Next:
• The winners of the two MIAC Tournament semifinals — Saint Mary's at Gustavus and Augsburg at Hamline —  two semifinal winners — will square off next Saturday, March 7, in the 2020 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoff Championship game, which will be played on the home ice of the highest remaining seed. The tournament champion will receive the postseason championship plaque and the Conference's automatic bid to the 2020 NCAA Division III Women's Hockey Tournament.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• With their win over St. Thomas on Thursday, the Cardinals head into Saturday's matchup against top-seeded and nationally ranked Gustavus having won four of their last five, while going 4-1-1 in their last six. … Thursday's 4-1 win over St. Thomas snapped Saint Mary's four-game losing streak against the Tommies — and ended a six-game postseason losing streak, dating back to a 3-1 win over Augsburg on March 1, 2005. … Saint Mary's quarterfinal win over St. Thomas was its fourth road win of the season. Saint Mary's heads to Gustavus with a 4-8-1 record on the road. The Cardinals finished the year 6-5-2 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … Thursday's win over St. Thomas was the Cardinals' second straight 4-1 victory — having beaten Saint Benedict by that score in their regular-season finale last Saturday. … The Cardinals' showdown against Gustavus — currently ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll — marks the eighth time this season the Cardinals will face a team was ranked in the Top 5 in USCHO.com Poll at the time. Saint Mary's has also faced No. 5 Hamline (L, 6-1; T, 3-3), No. 3 Adrian (L, 3-2; L, 4-2), No. 5 UW-River Falls (L, 4-1), and No. 4 Gustavus (L, 5-1; T, 2-2). … The Cardinals' 2-2 tie against fourth-ranked and regular-season champion 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 previous two seasons. … Saint Mary's four goals against the Tommies Thursday came from four different players — Delaney Wolfe (Bismarck, N.D.), Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.), Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Kayla Henning (Burnsville, Minn.). … Saint Mary's eight goals in their last two games have now come from seven different players. … Courtney Moser (Blaine, Minn.) — who picked up two assists against St. Thomas Thursday and has now recorded at least one point in four of the Cardinals' last five games — enters Saturday's tournament semifinal as the team-leader in both assists (13) and points (21) — both career highs. … Hafiz has scored a team-leading and single-season career-high 13 goals, while sitting second to Moser in points with 19. … Moser recorded her first collegiate two-goal game against St. Olaf on Feb. 14. … 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.). … Modjeski added a career-best three assists to her first collegiate goal against St. Olaf on Feb. 14. … Saint Mary's has had a player score two goals in a game four times this season — Moser vs. St. Olaf on Feb. 14, Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) against St. Thomas on Jan. 17, Delaney Calabrese (West Dundee, Ill.) vs. 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 as a Cardinal. … 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.). … Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) — who made 29 saves in the Cardinals' 4-1 postseason-opening win over St. Thomas Thursday — 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 enters Saturday's MIAC Tournament game against Gustavus boasting a 2.47 goals-against-average and a .920 save percentage in 16 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 — has compiled a 2.30 goals-against-average and .930 save percentage in 12 appearances. … Keeley has made 30 or more saves in a game six times in her first two years as a Cardinal. … 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. … Saint Mary's 1-0 loss to Saint Benedict on Feb. 21 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. … The Cardinals 8-1, 3-1 wins over St. Olaf on Feb. 14-15 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. … Seventeen of the Cardinals' 26 games this season have been decided by two goals or less. Saint Mary's is 7-7-3 in those 17 contests. … 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 have played five overtime games this season — going 1-1-3. Along with their 3-3 tie against Hamline on Feb. 8, 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. …  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 15 of its 26 games, going 6-6-3. The Cardinals are 4-6-0 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 7-1-2 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.

Scouting The Gustavus Gusties:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• The Gusties collected their 16th MIAC regular-season title after finishing with a 15-1-2 conference mark. … GAC is making its 20th MIAC Tournament appearance in the last 21 seasons and own a league-best 12 tournament titles — the last coming in 2013. … Gustavus — ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll — enters postseason play riding a seven-game winning streak. The Gusties have outscored their opponents 26-4 in that span — including shutout wins in each of their last three games. … Gustavus enters postseason play boasting three players who have scored 10 or more goals — Molly McHugh (16), Hailey Holland (14), and Kristina Press (11). … Press (18), McHugh (13), and Kristen Cash (10) all own 10 or more assists, while McHugh and Press share the team lead in points with 29. … McHugh and Press are two of seven Gusties with 10 or more points heading into postseason play, being joined by Holland (23), Cash (14), Jordyn Peterson (11), Emily Olson (10), and Clara Billings (10). … Holland leads the team with five power-play goals, two more than both Olson and Billings. … McHugh has netted the game-winner in five of Gustavus' 20 wins, with Press, Billings, and Cash each scoring the game-winning goal three times. … Gustavus has used three different goalies this season, led by Katie McCoy, who has compiled a 1.07 goals-against-average and .950 save percentage in 12 games. Emilia Helms-Leslie boasts a 0.56 GAA and .958 save % in nine appearances, and Francesca Gerardi owns a 1.46 GAA and .915 save % in five contests. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 83-24 — allowing just eight goals in each of the three periods. … The Gusties have scored first in 21 of their 25 games, going 20-1-0. GAC is 0-2-2 when its opponent scores first. … Gustavus is unbeaten (20-0-0) when leading after to periods, and winless (0-3-2) when trailing going into the final period. … Gustavus has played eight games decided by one goal or less, going 5-1-2. GAC has scored three of more goals in a game 12 times — all wins — including a season-high eight-goal outburst in beating St. Olaf 8-0 on Jan. 16. … Twelve of Gustavus' 20 wins this season have been by shutout.