SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

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

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ST. OLAF OLES 

(2-2-1 MIAC, 3-6-2 Overall)

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LAST NIGHT: 

Dec. 3, 2021 * SMU 4, St. Olaf 1 * Recap

HEAD-2-HEAD: Series History

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Dec. 7, 2021 * MSOE * Milwaukee, WI * 7:00

ST. OLAF UP NEXT: 

Dec. 10, 2021 * Bethel * Blaine, MN * 7:00

Dec. 11, 2021 * Bethel * Northfield, MN * 7:00

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s enters Saturday’s rematch against St. Olaf sitting at 3-7-1 overall, including a 2-3-0 record in conference play

• LAST NIGHT: Saint Mary’s got goals from four different players — including a pair of third-period tallies — as the Cardinals rolled to a 4-1 MIAC win over St. Olaf Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals’ four goals against St. Olaf on Friday came from four different players — Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.), Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.), Andrew Froese (Traverse City, Mich.), and Trevor Wilhelm (St. Louis, Mo.). Saint Mary’s has yet to have a multiple-goal scorer this season.

• CAREER NIGHTS: Poellinger had a goal and an assist for his first collegiate multiple-point game, while Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) equaled their single-game career-high with two assists.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: With his goal against St. Olaf Friday night, Winter moved into the team lead in goals with four, one more than Poellinger, Kasyn Kruse (Luverne, Minn.), and Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta). Froese, Matt Hutton (Carmel, Ind.), Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa), and Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ind.) all own two goals, while Hanson, Wilhelm, Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.), Trevor Paradise (Colorado Springs, Colo.), 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.

• LENDING A HAND: Hutton has recorded a team-best six assists, followed by Schroder and Poellinger with four, and Lindauer , Winter, Stoynich, Wilhelm, and Hanson with three assists each, Twelve other Cardinals have collected  at least one helper through 10 games.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Along with his team-high five assists, Hutton (2 G, 6 A) also leads the team in points with eight, followed by Winter (4 G, 3 A, 7 Pts), Poellinger (3 G, 4 A, 7 Pts), Stoynich (3 G, 3 A, 6 Pts), and Schroder (2 G, 4 A, 6 Pts).

• MULTIPLE-POINT PERFORMANCES: With the two-point performances by Poellinger and Hanson Friday night the Cardinals have had 10 players post multiple-point games this season — led by Stoynich, Hutton, and Winter, who have achieved the feat twice.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.), who recorded his first collegiate win with a career-high 35-save effort against Saint John’s on Nov. 18, made 20 saves against St. Olaf Friday night. … Sankner — who posted a 34-save effort in SMU’s 3-3 tie against Lawrence on Nov. 23 — has stopped 30 or more shots in three of his six starts this season. Sankner heads into Saturday’s rematch against St. Olaf carrying a 2.76 goals-against-average and .913 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 26 goals through their first 11 games, including eight on the power-play. SMU is 8-for-41 with the man advantage. Saint Mary’s has scored a season-high four goals twice this season — beating UW-Superior 4-3 on Nov. 5, and dropping St. Olaf 4-1 Friday night.

• 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 with their 2-1 victory over Saint John’s on Nov. 18. SMU is 2-1-1 in its last four games.

• FIRST-GOAL SUCCESS: In nine of Saint Mary’s first 11 games this season, the team that has scored first has gone on to win. The Cardinals are 2-0-0 when scoring first, while going 1-7-1 when their opponent nets the game’s first goal.

• 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 Nov. Oct. 29.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles enter Saturday’s home showdown against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-6-2 overall — including a 2-2-1 showing in its first four MIAC games of the season. 

• LAST NIGHT: Tyler Cooper scored the Oles’ lone goal, and St. Olaf gave up three unanswered goals in falling to Saint Mary’s 4-1 on Friday night in Winona, Minn.

• BACK ON THE ROAD: Friday’s game at Saint Mary’s was the third consecutive road game for the Oles, who are winless in six  tries on the road this season (0-5-1). St. Olaf is an impressive 3-1-1 on its home ice.

• CLOSE CALLS: Seven of St. Olaf’s first 11 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: Three Oles share the team lead in goals with four each — Ethan Hersant, Sean Walsh, and Matthew Pointer. Cooper has scored three times, while 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 on Nov. 27.

• LENDING A HAND: Cooper has amassed a team-leading six assists, one more than Altmann, and two in front of Hersant, 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 (3 G, 6 A, 9 Pts) and Hersant (4 G, 4 A, 8 Pts).. … 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 11 games, led by Cooper Lukenda (five starts) and Thomas Lafonde (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 3.32 GAA and .893 save percentage in seven appearances (307:06). 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 142 saves, followed by Lafonde with 111. … 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 29 goals through 11 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 11 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 six of its losses this season, including a season-high six in falling to UW-Superior 6-3 on Nov. 6.