SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(1-3-0 MIAC, 2-7-1 Overall)

Team Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

ST. OLAF OLES 

(2-1-1 MIAC, 3-5-2 Overall)

Team Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

Live Stats | Streaming Video | Senior Salute

LAST MEETING: March 16, 2021 * L, 3-2

HEAD-2-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Nov. 23, 2021 * Lawrence * T, 3-3 (ot)

ST. OLAF LAST ACTION: 

Nov. 27, 2021 * Marian * L, 5-3

Nov. 28, 2021 * Marian * L, 5-4 (ot)

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 4, 2021 * at St. Olaf * Northfield, MN * 2:00

ST. OLAF UP NEXT: 

Dec. 4, 2021 * v. Saint Mary’s * Northfield, MN * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s enters its final conference series before the Christmas break sitting at 2-7-1 overall, including a 1-3-0 record in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s got goals from Kasyn Kruse (Luverne, Minn.), Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.), and Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.) in battling Lawrence to a 3-3, overtime tie on Nov. 23.

• WORKING OVERTIME: The Cardinals’ 3-3 tie against Lawrence on Nov. 23 was its second straight overtime game — and its third OT contest this season. SMU dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to Saint John’s on Nov. 20, while falling 4-3 in OT to Lake Forest in its season-opener on Oct. 29.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: With their goals against Lawrence on Nov. 23, Kruse and Winter moved into a tie for the team lead in goals (3) with Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta). Poellinger, Matt Hutton (Carmel, Ind.), Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa), and Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ind.) all own two goals, while Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.), Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.), Trevor Paradise (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Andrew Froese (Traverse City, Mich.), and Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) have netted SMU’s other five goals.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: The Cardinals boast five players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Kruse, Paradise, Poellinger, Potyk, and Hutton.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s three goals against Lawrence on Nov. 23 came from three different players. SMU has not had a multiple-goal scorer through its first 10 games.

• LENDING A HAND: Hutton has recorded a team-best five assists, followed by Schroder with four, and Lindauer, Poellinger, Winter, and Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.) with three assists each, Thirteen other Cardinals have collected  at least one helper through 10 games.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Along with his team-high five assists, Hutton (2 G, 5 A) also leads the team in points with seven followed by Schroder (2 G, 4 A) and Winter (3 G, 3 A) with six, and  Stoynich (3 G, 2 A), Lindauer (2 G, 3 A), and Poellinger (2 G, 3 A) with five.

• MULTIPLE-POINT PERFORMANCES: The Cardinals have had eight players post multiple-point games this season — led by Stoynich, Hutton, and Winter, who have achieved the feat twice. Paradise, Winter, Lindauer and Wilhelm have accounted for the other five. … The Cardinals have not had a multiple-goal scorer through nine games.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) recorded his first collegiate win with a career-high 35-save effort against Saint John’s on Nov. 18. The freshman — who posted a 34-save effort in SMU’s 3-3 tie against Lawrence on Nov. 23 — has now stopped 30 or more shots in three of his five starts this season. Sankner heads into this weekend’s games against St. Olaf carrying a 3.13 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage. … A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) notched his first collegiate win on Nov. 5, making 28 saves in SMU’s 4-3 win over UW-Superior. Ruskowski followed up that effort by stopping a career-best 43 shots in the Cardinals’ 4-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire the following evening. … Ruskowski owns a 4.30 GAA and an .869 save percentage.

• FIRST CAREER STARTS: Ruskowski and 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.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored 22 goals through their first 10 games, including seven on the power-play. SMU is 7-for-37 with the man advantage. Saint Mary’s scored a season-high four goals in its 4-3 win over UW-Superior on Nov. 5.

• STREAKING ALONG: The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season on Nov. 5, snapping a season-opening three-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over UW-Superior. SMU put an end to its second three-game losing streak last Thursday with their 2-1 victory over Saint John’s.

• FIRST-GOAL SUCCESS: In eight of Saint Mary’s first 10 games this season, the team that has scored first has gone on to win. The Cardinals are 1-0-0 when scoring first, while going 1-7-1 when their opponent nets the game’s first goal.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles head into this weekend’s conference showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-5-2 overall — including a 2-1-1 showing in its first four MIAC games of the season. 

• LAST ACTION: St. Olaf surrendered five goals in each of its nonconference games against Marian last weekend, falling to the Sabres 5-3 on Saturday and 5-4 in overtime on Sunday. Ethan Hersant scored twice in last Saturday’s 5-3 loss to Marian, but the Sabres netted four unanswered goals en route to the win. The following afternoon, Marian scored the game’s first four goals, with St. Olaf answered with four straight tallies, before Marian’s Mason Richey scored the game-winner with 59 seconds remaining in OT.

• BACK ON THE ROAD: Friday’s game at Saint Mary’s is the third consecutive road game for the Oles, who are winless in five tries on the road this season (0-4-1). St. Olaf is an impressive 3-1-1 on its home ice.

• CLOSE CALLS: Seven of St. Olaf’s first 10 games have been decided by two goals or less — including each of the Oles’ last three contests. St. Olaf is 2-3-2 in those seven contests.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: With his two goals against Marian last Saturday, Hersant moved into a tie for the team’s goal-scoring lead (4) with Sean Walsh and Matthew Pointer. Tyler Cooper, Ashton Altemann, Troy Bowditch, Parker Casey, and Brendan Darby have all netted two goals. … Hersant and Suter have each scored a season-high two goals in a game this season — Suter against Concordia on Nov. 20 and Hersant against Marian last Saturday.

• LENDING A HAND: Cooper has amassed a team-leading six assists, two more than Hersant, Altmann, Bowditch, and Ben Lusko. … St. Olaf has had three players post two assists in a game this season — Altmann, Lusko, and Noah Heisler.

• RACKING UP THE POINTS: St. Olaf has gotten at least one point from 17 different players, led by Cooper and Hersant with eight each, two more than Altmann and Bowditch. … Altmann recorded a season-high three-point night against St. Scholastica on Nov. 13.

• NETTING THE WINNER: Hersant, Walsh and Pointer have scored St. Olaf’s three game-winning goals, while Darby owns the team’s game-tying goal. 

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: St. Olaf has used four different goalies through the season’s first 10 games, led by Cooper Lukenda and Thomas Lafonde, who have both made four starts. Lafonde has compiled a 2.52 goals-against-average and .917 save percentage in seven appearances 238:22 minutes), while Lukenda owns a 3.14 GAA and .897 save percentage in six appearances (248:45). Colin Cain (3.77 GAA, .872 save percentage, 95:28) and Lukas Haugen (4.51 GAA, .895 save percentage, 26:37) have also seen time between the pipes for the Oles. … Lukenda has made a team-high 113 saves, two more than Lafonde. … Lafonde has been in goal for two of the Oles’ three wins, and Lukenda owns one win and both ties.

• AS A TEAM: The Oles have scored 28 goals through 10 games, including six power-play tallies. The Oles’ opponents, meanwhile, have netted 32, with six coming with the man advantage. … The Oles have scored three of more goals in six of their 10 games — and netted a season-high five goals in a 5-1 win over St. Scholastica on Nov. 13. On the flip side, St. Olaf has allowed four of more goals in all five of its losses this season, including a season-high six in falling to UW-Superior 6-3 on Nov. 6