SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(2-0-0 MIAC, 3-2-0 O'ALL)

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SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES 

(2-0-0 MIAC, 3-3-0 O'ALL

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A YEAR AGO:

Feb. 17, 2021 * T, 2-2 | March 13, 2021 * W, 4-0

HEAD-2-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Nov. 11, 2021 | v. Concordia * W, 3-2

Nov. 12, 2021 | v. Concordia * W, 3-

SAINT BENEDICT LAST ACTION: 

Nov. 10, 2021 * v. Bethel * W, 4-1

Nov. 11, 2021 * at Bethel * W, 1-0 (forfeit)

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Nov. 20, 2021 * v. Saint Benedict

SMU Ice Arena * 2:00

SAINT BENEDICT UP NEXT: 

Nov. 20, 2021 * at Saint Mary’s

SMU Ice Arena * 2:00

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into Friday’s first game of their two-game conference series against Saint Benedict sitting at 2-0-0 in conference play — thanks to last weekend’s sweep of Concordia — and own a 3-2-0 overall record.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s scored single goals in all three periods — all three goals collegiate firsts — and held off the Cobbers down the stretch en route to a 3-2 victory over CC last Friday, while netting three more goals in completing the conference-opening sweep with a 3-1 victory the following afternoon.

• HOME SWEET HOME: This weekend’s two games against Saint Benedict are the fourth and fifth straight home contests for the Cardinals, who close out the 2021 portion of their schedule with a road and home matchup against St. Olaf on Dec. 3-4. 

• BACK ON THE OFFENSIVE TRACK: After being shut out in each of their last two contests — falling to St. Norbert 4-0 and UW-River Falls 7-0 — Saint Mary’s scored three times in both of its games against Concordia last weekend. Saint Mary’s has now scored 10 goals in its three wins this season.

• THREE’S COMPANY: Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.), Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.), and Morgan Leib (Farmington Heights, Mich.) all scored their first collegiate goals to account for SMU’s three tallies in last Friday’s win over Concordia. Leib and Polzin also netted two of SMU’s three goals in the Cardinals’ 3-1 victory the following afternoon, with Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) accounting for the other Saint Mary’s goal.

• COLLEGIATE FIRSTS: Saint Mary’s has now had six players score their first collegiate goals this season. Along with Polzin, Urlaub, and Leib, Jordan Kurkowski (North Branch, Minn.)scored her first two collegiate goals and Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) netted her first goal in a Cardinal uniform in SMU’s 4-1 win over St. Norbert on Oct. 29.

• GOAL NO. 1: Avrey Simonson (Waupaca, Wis.) scored the Cardinals’ first goal of the 2021-22 season, opening the scoring at 8:37 of the first period against St. Norbert on Oct. 29.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Kurkowski, Leib and Polzin share the team lead in goals with two each, with Braun, Sheridan, Urlaub, and Simonson netting the Cardinals’ other four goals.

• LENDING A HAND: Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.) and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) sit atop the team lead in assists with two each.

• THE GAME-WINNER: Both of Leib’s goals against Concordia last weekend were game-winners, while Kurkowski owns Saint Mary’s third game-winning goal this season.

• MULTIPLE-POINTS: Kurkowski’s three-point game against St. Norbert (2 G, 1 A) on Oct. 29 was the first of her collegiate career, and the three-points were the most by a Cardinal since Anne Carmean (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) scored two goals and added an assist against Saint Benedict on March 13, 2021.

• YOUTH MOVEMENT: The Cardinals had nine freshmen in the lineup in their season-opening 4-1 win over St. Norbert on Oct. 29, with three of SMU’s four goals in the victory coming from players making their collegiate debuts.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) and Jordan Keeley (St. James, Minn.) have shared the goaltending duties this season. Keeley kicked out a career-high 44 Concordia shots in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Concordia, and enters the weekend with a 2.00 goals-against-average and .950 save percentage in three appearances (120:00). Ziakas — who made a season-high 33 saves against Concordia last Friday — has compiled a 3.67 goals-against-average and .883 save percentage in 180:00 minutes. … Ziakas has collected a team-leading 83 saves, with Keeley close behind with 76. … Ziakas recorded a pair of shutouts in 2020-21, making 35 saves in a 0-0 tie against Concordia on Feb. 6, before stopping all 31 shots she faced against Saint Benedict on March 14. 

• FIRST-GOAL ADVANTAGE: The team that has scored first has won all five of the Cardinals’ games this season. SMU scored first in sweeping Concordia (3-2; 3-2) and against St. Norbert (4-1) on Oct. 29, while the Green Knights and UW-River Falls both scored first in their two wins.

• A YEAR AGO: The Cardinals posted 2-6-2 record during the 10-game  2020-21 season. In their last full season in 2019-20, SMU finished 10-14-3 overall, including a 6-10-2, fifth-place showing in the MIAC. The Cardinals beat St. Thomas (4-2) and dropped a 4-1 decision to Gustavus in the 2020 MIAC Tournament.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Bennies enter this weekend’s two-game MIAC series at Saint Mary’s sitting at .500 overall with a 3-3-0 record, while sporting a 2-0-0 conference mark — thanks to last weekend’s sweep of Bethel.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Benedict erupted for three, third-period goals, breaking a 1-1 tie and sending the Bennies to a 4-1, conference-opening win over Bethel on Nov. 11. Due to MIAC COVID testing protocols at Bethel, CSB earned a 1-0 forfeit win in the second game of its conference series against the Royals.

• RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER: After opening the season with three straight losses, CSB enters the weekend having won its last three.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Ava Stinnett and Kennedy Morris share the team lead in goals with three each, one more than Sami Boerboom, while Jenna Timm, Annnika Brodt, Aurora Opsahl, Emma Rooks, and Jamie Benzie have all scored once. … Morris owns both of the Bennies’ game-winning goals.

• LENDING A HAND: Along with her team-leading three goals, Stinnett also leads the Bennies with three assists, followed by Timm and Corrine Brown with two helpers each.

• RIGHT ON POINT: Stinnett sits atop the team’s points race with six through five games, followed by Morris with four, and Timm and Boerboom with three each. Stinnett and Opsahl have both posted multiple-point games this season. 

• MULTIPLE-POINTERS: Opsahl had a goal and an assist and Stinnett recorded two assists against Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 5.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Maggie Gilchrist and Ally Frantzick have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Gilchrist making three starts, while Frantzick has started two. Gilchrist enters the weekend boasting a 2.34 goals-against-average and an .897 save percentage, followed by Frantzick with a 3.96 GAA and .857 save percentage. … Gilchrist — who has been in goal for both CSB wins — has stopped 61 of the 68 shots she’s faced, with Frantzick close behind with 48 saves.

• AS A TEAM: The Bennies have scored 13 goals this season — including five power-play goals. On the flip side, CSB has allowed 16 goals, five of which have been scored with the man-advantage. … Saint Benedict has scored seven of its 13 goals in the third period, while the Bennies’ opponents have scored six goals in the second period and five in the third.