SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(3-0-0 MIAC, 4-2-0 O'ALL)

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SAINT BENEDICT BENNIES 

(2-1-0 MIAC, 3-4-0 O'ALL

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LAST NIGHT:

Nov. 20, 2021 * W, 2-1

A YEAR AGO:

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

HEAD-2-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 3, 2021 * at St. Olaf *  Northfield, Minn. * 7:00

Dec. 4, 2021 * v. St.Olaf * Winona, Minn. * 2:00

SAINT BENEDICT UP NEXT: 

Dec. 3, 2021 * at Gustavus * St. Peter, Minn. * 7:00

Dec. 4, 2021 * v. Gustavus * Northfield, Minn. * 2:00 

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into Saturday’s second game of their two-game conference series against Saint Benedict sitting at 3-0-0 in conference play — thanks to Friday’s 2-1 win over the Bennies —  and own a 4-2-0 overall record.

• LAST NIGHT: Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.) scored both of the Cardinals’ goals and Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) stopped 22 of the 23 shots she faced, as Saint Mary’s posted its third straight conference win with the 2-1 victory over Saint Benedict.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday’s game against Saint Benedict is the 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. 

• SCORE GOALS, WIN GAMES: Saint Mary’s has scored 12 goals in its four wins this season — including two goals in Friday’s 2-1 win over Saint Benedict. The Cardinals have been shut out in both of their losses this season.

• TWO FOR NO. 6: Urlaub picked up her first collegiate multiple-goal game, scoring both of SMU’s goals in Friday’s 2-1 win over Saint Benedict. The two-goal game is Saint Mary’s first since Anne Carmean (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) found the back of the net twice in the Cardinals’ 4-0 win over … Saint Benedict … on March 13, 2021. … Urlaub has now recorded at least one point in three straight games.

• THREE’S COMPANY: Urlaub, Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.), and Morgan Leib (Farmington Heights, Mich.) all scored their first collegiate goals to account for SMU’s three tallies in Saint Mary’s 3-2 win over Concordia on Nov. 12. 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: With her two goals against Saint Benedict on Friday, Urlaub moved into the team lead with three, one more than Kurkowski, Leib, and Polzin, with Braun, Simonson, and Sheridan 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, while eight other Cardinals have recorded one helper.

• THE GAME-WINNER: Both of Leib’s goals against Concordia last weekend were game-winners, while Urlaub and Kurkowski own Saint Mary’s other two game-winning goals 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 the Cobbers, and enters Saturday’s rematch with CSB 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 on Nov. 19 — has compiled a 3.00 goals-against-average and .893 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 six of the Cardinals’ games this season. SMU scored first in sweeping Concordia (3-2; 3-2) and against Saint Benedict (2-1) on Friday and 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 Saturday’s MIAC rematch at Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-4-0 record, and suffered their first conference loss of the season (2-1-1) against Saint Mary’s on Friday.

• LAST NIGHT: Corrine Brown scored her first goal of the season and Maggie Gilchrist made 25 saves, but it was not enough, as CSB dropped a 2-1 decision to Saint Mary’s at the SMU Ice Arena Friday evening.

• RIDING THE ROLLERCOASTER: After opening the season with three straight losses, CSB won  three in a row before Friday’s streak-snapping loss to Saint Mary’s.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Ava Stinnett and Kennedy Morris share the team lead in goals with three each, one more than Sami Boerboom, while Brown, 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 five assists, followed by Timm with two helpers. Ten other Bennies have recorded on assist

• RIGHT ON POINT: Stinnett sits atop the team’s points race with eight through seven games, followed by Morris with four, and Timm and Boerboom with three each.

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

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Gilchrist and Ally Frantzick have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Gilchrist making four starts, while Frantzick has started two. Gilchrist enters the weekend boasting a 2.37 goals-against-average and an .905 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 86 shots she’s faced, with Frantzick close behind with 48 saves.

• AS A TEAM: The Bennies have scored 14 goals this season — including five power-play goals. On the flip side, CSB has allowed 18 goals, five of which have been scored with the man-advantage. … Saint Benedict has scored eight of its 14 goals in the third period, while the Bennies’ opponents have scored six goals in the first period, seven in the second period and five in the third.