By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returns to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Hamline in the second game of the teams' two-game MIAC series. Opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.
 
The Matchup:
• Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-6-0 MIAC, 7-10-1 Overall) at Hamline Pipers (3-7-3 MIAC, 5-13-4 Overall)
 
GameDay Live On The Web:
• Live Stats * Live Video
 
Last Night:
• February 7, 2020 * TRIA Rink * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline scored a pair of unanswered goals — including the game-winner six minutes into the third period — as the Pipers dealt the Cardinals a 2-1 conference setback | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. Hamline — A Year Ago:
• February 8, 2019 * Saint Mary's Ice Arena * Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals made it three straight wins in their last three Friday night contests, as Saint Mary's scored twice in the second period and once more in the third in dealing Hamline the same fate as Gustavus and Bethel the previous two weeks — an MIAC loss — this time a 3-1 decision | Recap
• February 9, 2019 * TRIA Rink * St. Paul, Minn.: Hamline raced out to a 3-0 first-period lead, Saint Mary's rallied to pull even with three unanswered goals, but the Pipers outscored the Cardinals 3-1 over the final period and a half in dealing SMU a 7-4 conference setback | Recap
 
Up Next:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals are back in action next weekend with a pair of conference games against St. Olaf. Saint Mary's travels to St. Olaf Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. contest against the Oles on Friday, before the two teams head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.
• Hamline: The Pipers return to conference action next Friday and Saturday with a pair of games against St. Thomas. HU heads across town to the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn., on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Tommies, before returning home to the TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn., for the teams' 7 p.m. rematch Saturday evening.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Hamline was the second straight road game for the Cardinals, who are 5-6-0 on the road, while going 3-5-1 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … With their 2-1 loss to Hamline Friday, the Cardinals have now played 18 games decided by one goal or less — including 10 that have gone into overtime — over the past two seasons. … Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) scored the Cardinals' lone goal against Hamline Friday night. … Stoynich has now recorded at least one point in 10 of the Cardinals' last 12 games. … Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.) were credited with the assists on Stoynich's goal. … The Cardinals' nine goals in their 7-1 win and 5-2 loss against Augsburg last weekend came from eight different players. Tommy Stang scored two goals in Saint Mary's 7-1 win over Augsburg on Jan. 31, while Stoynich, Wilhelm, Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario), Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.), Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ill.), Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill) and Robert Roslund (Vanersborg, Sweden) accounted for Saint Mary's other seven goals. … Tommy Stang's two-goal and four-point game against Augsburg last Friday were both collegiate firsts, while Liverance equaled his career-high with three points (1 goal, 2 assists) against the Auggies. … 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. … Meeh enters Saturday's rematch with Hamline as the team-leader in goals with 10 — a single-season career-high. … Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), who recorded his first collegiate four-assist game against Augsburg on Jan. 31 — marking the sixth time this season the senior has recorded two or more assists in a game — leads the team in both assists (19) and points (22). … Tommy Stang (20), Meeh (16), Stoynich (16), Wilhelm (11), and Liverance (10) have all cracked the 10-point barrier this season. … With his goal against UW-Stout on Jan. 17, Alex Rickoff (Winona, Minn.) became the ninth Cardinal to net his first collegiate goal this season — joining Lindauer, Ian Currie (Franklin, Tenn.), Roslund, Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.), Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.), Wilhelm, Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia), and Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.). … The Cardinals have had a multiple-goal scorer five times this season — Tommy Stang vs. Augsburg last Friday; Meeh vs. Concordia on Nov. 23 and vs. St. Thomas on Jan. 17; Jack Stang against Williams on Jan. 3; and Magnavite against Lake Forest on Nov. 1. … Four of Meeh's 10 goals have come on the power-play — a team high — while Tommy Stang has scored three of Saint Mary's four shorthanded goals. … Tommy Stang's two shorthanded goals against Augsburg on Jan. 31 marked the first time Saint Mary's has had a player score two shorthanded goals in a game since Martin Gruse netted two on Dec. 6, 2014. … Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.), who has compiled a 3.43 goals-against-average and an .887 save percentage in nine starts, has stopped 30 or more shots nine times in the last two seasons. … Al Rogers (New Haven, Conn.) — who recorded his first collegiate shutout, a 30-save showing against No. 10 Oswego on Jan. 3 — heads into Saturday's rematch against Hamline boasting a 3.91 goals-against-average and an .896 save percentage. … 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. … 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' seven goals in their 7-1 win over No. 10 Augsburg on Jan. 31 were a season high — and marked the second straight year in which Saint Mary's has recorded a seven-goal game. … Five of Saint Mary's seven goals against Augsburg on Jan. 31 came on special teams — the Cardinals scored three power-play goals and added a pair of shorthanded tallies. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 21-20 in the second, but have been outscored 16-15 in the first period and 28-19 in the third. … The Cardinals' 4-3 loss to Bethel on Jan. 24 was their 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' 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 has scored first in 11 of its 20 games, going 5-6-0. The Cardinals are 3-5-1 when their opponent scores first. … Saint Mary's is 6-1-1 when leading after two periods, while going 0-5-0 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 Hamline:
2019-20 Roster | 2019-20 Schedule | 2019-20 Statistics
• Friday's game against Saint Mary's was the second straight home game for the Pipers, who are 2-7-2 on their home ice, while going 3-6-2 away from TRIA Rink. … Friday's win over Saint Mary's was the Pipers' second straight 2-1 win. HU beat Gustavus 2-1 last Saturday. … Hamline's 2-1 win over Gustavus last Saturday snapped the Pipers' three-game losing streak and five-game winless streak (0-4-1). … Jackson Bond enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's as the Pipers' offensive leader, owning team-highs in all three offensive categories — goals (11), assists (12), and points (23). … Welland Parrish and Brandon Bissett are second to Bond in goals with six each, while Parrish is also second on the team in assists (8), and points (14). … Bissett (10) and Jeron Hirschfeld (10) have also posted 10 or more points this season. … Hamline has netted 13 power-play goals this season, led by Bailey Martin with three and Bond with two. … Kyle Wendorf has scored two of the Pipers' five game-winning goals, with Parrish, Martin, and Hirschfeld netting the other three. … Hamline has used three different goalies this season, led by Sam Nelson, who has compiled a 3.14 goals-against-average and .908 save percentage in 13 starts. Evan Robert (7 GP, 4.49 GAA, .893 save %) and Kevin Lake (5 GP, 1.80 GAA, .929 save %) have also seen time between the pipes for Hamline. … Hamline has scored three or more goals eight times this season — going 3-3-2. … The Pipers have scored a season-high four games three times — beating Trine (4-3), St. Olaf (4-1), and UW-Stout (4-2). … Four of Hamline's five overtime games this season have ended in ties — including two 3-3 stalemates and a pair of 1-1 deadlocks. HU's other OT game was a 3-2 loss to St. Olaf. …  Hamline has scored first in eight of its 22 games this season, going 2-5-1. The Pipers are 3-8-3 when their opponent scores first. … Hamline owns a 3-1-0 record when leading after two periods, but is just 1-9-2 when trailing heading into the third frame.