SMU CARDINALS (1-3-0 O'All) v. UW-EC BLUGOLDS (0-2-0 O'All)

 

SAT., NOV. 6, 2021 7:00 P.M.	SMU ICE ARENA WINONA, MN
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SMU v. UW-EC
Last Meeting: Nov. 9, 2019 L, 5-2	Head-to-Head: Series History
SMU Last Night: Nov. 5, 2021 Superior * W, 4-3	UWEC Last Night: Nov. 5, 2021 St. Olaf * L, 3-1
SMU Up Next: Nov. 12, 2021 at Concordia Nov. 13, 2021 at Concordia	UW-EC Up Next: Nov. 12, 2021 v. Gustavus Nov. 13, 2021 v. Augsburg

SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary's enters Saturday's nonconference showdown against UW-Eau Claire sporting a 1-3-0 record. The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season on Friday night, getting the game-winning goal from Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation en route to a 4-3 win over UW-Superior. • HOME SWEET HOME: Saturday's game against UW-Eau Claire is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who went 3-2 in their five home contests during last season's 11-game, pandemic-shortened season. • FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.) scored one of SMU's four goals against UW-Superior Friday evening to become the second Cardinal to net his first collegiate goal this season. Matt Hutton (Carmel, Ind.) netted his first goal in a Saint Mary's jersey to account for Saint Mary's lone goal in last Wednesday's 5-1 loss to Lawrence. • LIGHTING THE LAMP: The Cardinals had four different players score their four goals against UW-Superior Friday — Potyk, Stoynich, Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.), and Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa). Saint Mary's eight goals this season have come from six different players. • LENDING A HAND: Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ill.) collected a pair of assists against UW-Superior Friday evening and moved into a tie with Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.) for the team lead.  Hutton and Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.) have each chipped in two helpers through four games. … Lindauer and Wilhelm have each recorded two-assist games this season. • GOAL NO. 1: Liverance's goal at 13:52 of the first period was the Cardinals' first goal of the 2021-22 season. • POWER SURGE: Four of the Cardinals' eight goals this season have been scored on the power play. Saint Mary's is 4-for-19 with the man advantage. • BETWEEN THE PIPES: A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) picked up his first collegiate win Friday, equaling his career high with 28 saves against UW-Superior in Friday's 4-3 win. Ruskowski enters Saturday's matchup against UW-Eau Claire 3.24 goals-against average and an .882 save percentage. … Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) has compiled a 3.96 GAA and .889 save percentage in two starts (75:47). • FIRST CAREER STARTS: Ruskowski and Matt Sankner each made their first collegiate starts in goal for the Cardinals against Lake Forest on Oct. 29-30. Ruskowski finished with 28 saves in SMU's 4-3 overtime loss on Oct. 29, while Sankner kicked out 33 of the 35 Forester shots he faced the following afternoon. • CLOSE CALLS: Two of Saint Mary's four games this season have been decided by one goal — with both ending in a 4-3 decision. Along with Friday's 4-3 win over UW-Superior, SMU fell to Lake Forest 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 29. … The Cardinals have now played 27 games decided by one goal or less — including 15 that have gone into overtime — over the last four seasons. • QIUCK STARTERS: Saint Mary's has scored four of its eight goals this season in the first period. On the flip side, the Cardinals have been outscored 6-2 in the third period and overtime. • FIRST GOAL SUCCESS: In Saint Mary's four games this season, the team that has scored first has gone on to win. Lake Forest (twice) and Lawrence scored first in SMU's first three games of the season, while the Cardinals netted the game's opening goal in Friday's 4-3 victory over UW-Superior.

UW-EAU CLAIRE BLUGOLDS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR THE RECORD: The Blugolds head into Saturday's game against Saint Mary's still searching for their first win of the young season, sitting at 0-2-0. • LAST NIGHT: St. Olaf scored the game's first three goals — one in each period — in rolling to a 3-1 victory over UW-Eau Claire Friday night in Northfield, Minn. Quinn Green netted UW-EC's lone goal with 2:57 remaining in regulation. • IN THE POLLS: Despite their season-opening loss to Saint John's, the Blugolds are ranked No. 7 in the USCHO.com Poll. UW-EC opened the season ranked No. 4, before dropping three spots after the loss to SJU. • ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is UW-Eau Claire's third straight road contest to open the season. Following Saturday's matchup, the Blugolds will play their next six contests on their home ice at Hobbs Municipal Ice Center. • MIAC FOES: Saint Mary's is the third of seven games against teams from the MIAC for UW-Eau Claire. Along with their games against Saint John's, St. Olaf, and Saint Mary's, the Blugolds also have Gustavus, Augsburg, and Concordia (twice) on their schedule. • OFFENSIVE WOES: After being shut out in their opener against Saint John's on Oct. 30, the Blugolds managed just one goal in Friday's 3-1 loss to St. Olaf. • GOAL NO. 1: After five scoreless periods, UW-Eau Claire finally netted its first goal of the 2021-22 season when Quinn Green found the back of the net with 2:57 remaining in regulation against St. Olaf Friday. • LENDING A HAND: Jon Richards and Charles Weiand picked up UW-EC's first two assists of the season on Quinn's third-period tally. • BETWEEN THE PIPES: Riley McVeigh stopped 27 of the 27 shots he faced in UW-EC's 1-0 season-opening loss to Saint John's on Oct. 30, and followed that up with a 14-save effort against St. Olaf on Friday. • BREAKING IT DOWN: UW-Eau Claire has allowed just four goals — two in the first, and one in both the second and third — in its two losses. The Blugolds' lone goal was a third-period tally.

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