SMU CARDINALS (1-1-0 O'All) v. #4 UWRF FALCONS (3-0-0 O'All)

 

SAT., NOV. 6, 2021 2:00 P.M.	SMU ICE ARENA WINONA, MN
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SMU v. UWRF
Last Meeting: Nov. 9, 2019 * L, 4-1	Head-to-Head: Series History
SMU Last Action: Oct. 29-30, 2021 At St. Norbert W, 4-1 / L, 4-0	UWRF Last Action: Nov. 4, 2021 Augsburg W, 5-4 (ot)
SMU Up Next: Nov. 12, 2021 v. Concordia Nov. 13, 2021 v. Concordia	UWRF Up Next: Nov. 12, 2021 at Stevens Pt. Nov. 13, 2021 v. Northland

SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals opened their 2021-22 season with a split in their nonconference series against St. Norbert last weekend in Ashwaubenon, Wis. Saint Mary's opened with a 4-1 victory last Friday, before falling 4-0 in the nightcap. • COLLEGIATE FIRSTS: 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 last Friday. • 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 Friday. • LENDING A HAND: Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.) picked up assists on two of Saint Mary's four goals against St. Norbert last Friday, while Kurkowski and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) also had helpers in the 4-1 win. • MULTIPLE-POINTS: Kurkowski's three-point game against St. Norbert (2 G, 1 A) 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 last Friday's 4-1 win over St. Norbert, with three of SMU's four goals in the victory coming from players making their collegiate debuts. • BETWEEN THE PIPES: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) — who closed out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season boasting a 1.56 goals-against-average and a .952 save percentage — stopped 33 of the 38 shots she faced in five periods against St. Norbert last weekend. Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) played the third period of last Saturday's rematch vs. the Green Knights, stopping all four shots she faced. … 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. • 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.

UW-RIVER FALLS FALCONS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR THE RECORD: UW-River Falls heads into Saturday's showdown against Saint Mary's riding a season-opening three-game winning streak. The Falcons were taken to the limit in their most recent action, getting a goal from Abigail Stow 1:33 into overtime to beat Augsburg 5-4 Thursday evening in Minneapolis, Minn. • IN THE POLLS: The Falcons head into Saturday's nonconference game against Saint Mary's ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. Defending champion UW-River Falls was picked to finish first in the WIAC Preseason Coaches Poll. The Falcons own seven regular-season first-place finishes and six O'Brien Cup championships in program history. • OFF AND RUNNING: UW-River Falls kicked off its 2021-22 season in impressive fashion, outscoring Lake Forest 9-1 in their season-opening series on Oct. 30-31. UW-RF beat the Foresters 4-0 in the opener and followed that up with a 5-1 win in the rematch. • ROAD WARRIORS: Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the fourth of five straight road contests for the Falcons, who do not open the home portion of their schedule until a Nov. 13 date against Northland at W.H. Hunt Arena. • FAMILIAR FOES: Augsburg and Saint Mary's are two of 11 games against teams from the MIAC for the Falcons, who will also play two games against St. Scholastica, Gustavus, and Concordia, and a solo contests against Bethel and Saint Benedict this season. • HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE: UW-River Falls has scored four or more goals in all three games this season — netting four goals in its season-opening 4-0 win over Lake Forest on Oct. 30, before adding five-goal performances in back-to-back wins over Lake Forest (5-1) and Augsburg (5-4). • STABLE IS FULL: UW-River Falls returns seven All-WIAC performers back from last season's 10-2-0 squad, including WIAC Player of the Year Callie Hoff — a four-time All-WIAC selection — and WIAC Newcomer of the Year Alex Hantge. • LIGHTING THE LAMP: Stow's overtime goal against Augsburg — her second of the game — was also her team-leading third of the season. Hoff, Hantge, Maddie McCollins, and Erin Olson have all scored twice, while Sophia Leon, Alyson Niebur, and Emma Schmitz have accounted for UW-RF's other three goals. • OFFENSIVE LEADERS: Stow and Hoff share the team lead in assists with three each, one more than McCollins, while Show and Hoff are the team-leaders in points with six and five points, respectively. • NETTING THE GAME-WINNER: UW-River Falls' three game-winning goals have come from three different players — Stow, Hoff, and Leong. • BETWEEN THE PIPES: Jordan O'Connor and Sami Miller have both seen time in goal for the Falcons, with Miller making two starts and O'Connor the other. O'Connor has compiled a 1.00 goals-against-average and .941 save percentage in her lone start, while Miller boasts a 1.97 GAA and .902 save percentage in two starts. … Miller stopped all 21 shots she faced against Lake Forest on Oct. 30 en route to her first shutout of the season. • MIDDLE OF THE PACK: The second period has been UW-River Falls' bread-and-butter — the Falcons have scored eight of their 14 goals in the middle frame. On the flip side, UW-RF has allowed two goals in the first and second periods and one in the third. • QUICK STARTERS: The Falcons have scored first in two of their first three games this season. Augsburg netted the game's first goal UW-River Falls 5-4 overtime win on Thursday.

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