SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(5-1-0 MIAC, 8-5-0 OVERALL)

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HAMLINE PIPERS

(5-1-0 MIAC, 6-4-0 OVERALL)

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A YEAR AGO:

Feb.13, 2021

L, 2-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Jan. 5, 2022 * Johnson & Wales * W, 1-0

Jan. 6, 2022 * Worcester State * W, 4-1

HAMLINE LAST ACTION: 

Dec. 7, 2021 * Eau Claire * L, 5-1

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Jan. 22, 2022 * Hamline

SMU Ice Arena * 2:00

HAMLINE UP NEXT: 

Jan. 22, 2022 * Saint Mary’s

SMU Ice Arena * 2:00

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their two-game conference series against Hamline boasting an 8-5-0 overall record, including a 5-1-0 mark in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: Due to COVID protocols forcing the cancelation of last weekend’s two-game MIAC series against St. Scholastica, the Cardinals have not played since Jan. 5-6, when they went 2-0 on their East Coast trip. SMU got a third-period goal from Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.) to beat Johnson & Wales 1-0 on Jan. 5, before erupting for four second-period goals in dropping Worcester State 4-1 the following evening.

• WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: With their 1-0 win over Johnson & Wales on Jan. 5, six of the Cardinals’ eight wins this season have been decided by two goals or less.

• ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After playing seven of their previous eight games on their home ice, the Cardinals are in the midst of playing four consecutive contests away from the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena. Saint Mary’s is sitting a 4-2-0 in its six home games this season, while also winning four games on the road, boasting a 4-3-0 mark away from the SMU Ice Arena.

• SCORE GOALS, WIN GAMES: Saint Mary’s has scored 21 goals in its eight wins this season — including a season high four goals in beating both St. Norbert and Worcester State by 4-1 counts. The Cardinals have managed just two goals in their five losses.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.), Jenna Kurkowski (North Branch, Minn.), and Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) share the team lead with three goals each. Avrey Simonson (Waupaca, Wis.), Nina Langley (Chaska, Minn.), Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta), Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), and Morgan Leib (Farmington Heights, Minn.) all own two goals, while Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.), Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.), and Ellie Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.) have scored the Cardinals’ other four goals.

• NEW DAY, NEW ROLES: Langley and Kingston accounted for all four goals in SMU’s sweep of St. Olaf on Dec. 3-4. Langley scored the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation in the first 2-1 win over Dec. 3, while Kingston netted the game-winner 13 seconds into overtime in the second 2-1 victory the following afternoon.

• JOINING THE CROWD: Ellie Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.) and Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.) scored their first collegiate goals during SMU’s East Coast trip on Jan. 5-6, becoming the eighth and ninth players to net career goal No. 1 this season, joining Kingston, Langley, Urlaub, Polzin, Leib, Kurkowski, and Braun.

• TWO FOR NO. 6: Urlaub picked up her first collegiate multiple-goal game, scoring both of SMU’s goals in SMU’s 2-1 win over Saint Benedict on Nov. 20. 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.

• LENDING A HAND: With her two assists against Worcester State on Jan. 6, Simonson moved into the team lead with three, one more than Urlaub, Wolf, Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.), and Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.), while 11 other Cardinals have recorded one helper.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Urlaub leads the Cardinals with five points, one more than Kurkowski, Polzin, and Simonson. Braun, Kingston, Langley, Leib, Sheridan, and Wolf all own three points.

• THE GAME-WINNER: Both of Leib’s goals against Concordia on Nov. 12-13 were game-winners. Kurkowski shares the team lead with two game-winners, while Urlaub, Langley, Kingston, and Pierpont own Saint Mary’s other four game-winners 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 in a game since Anne Carmean (Spring Lake Park, Minn.) scored two goals and added an assist against Saint Benedict on March 13, 2021. … Simonson (2 A) and Hegdahl (1 G, 1 A) both posted their first collegiate two-point games against Worcester on Jan. 6. … Kingston added an assist to her first career goal against St. Olaf en route to her first multiple-point game as a Cardinal.

• SHARING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals have had 13 different players account for their 23 goals, while 18 have recorded at least one assist — and 18 have notched at least one point.

• YOUTH MOVEMENT: Eighteen of Saint Mary’s 23 goals this season have come from players wearing the Cardinal jersey for the first time this season.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) and Jordan Keeley (St. James, Minn.) have shared the goaltending duties this season. Ziakas enters this weekend’s two-game series against Hamline with a 2.15 goals-against-average and .910 save percentage, while Keeley has compiled a 3.03 GAA and .901 save %. … Keeley kicked out a career-high 44 Concordia shots in SMU’s 3-1 win over the Cobbers on Nov. 13, while Ziakas made a season-high 33 saves against Concordia on Nov. 19. … Ziakas has collected a team-leading 183 saves, with Keeley close behind with 128 … Ziakas stopped all 12 shots she faced against Johnson & Wales en route to her first shutout of the season and fourth shutout of her collegiate career. 

• FIRST-GOAL ADVANTAGE: The team that has scored first has won all 13 of the Cardinals’ games this season. SMU scored first in sweeping Concordia (3-2; 3-2) and St. Olaf (2-1; 2-1), and in beating Saint Benedict (2-1), St. Norbert (4-1), Johnson & Wales (1-0), and Worcester State (4-1); while Saint Benedict, St. Norbert, UW-River Falls, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-Stevens Point scored first in the Cardinals’ four losses.

• PROGRAM FIRSTS: Saint Mary’s nonconference games against Johnson & Wales and Worcester State on Jan. 5-6 marked the first time in program history the schools have met.

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: The Cardinals’ matchup against No. 3 UW-Eau Claire on Jan. 1 marked the second time this season the Cardinals have faced a team ranked in the top five in the USCHO.com Poll. The Cardinals dropped a 7-0 decision to then-No. 4 UW-River Falls on Nov. 6.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Pipers enter their conference series against Saint Mary’s sitting at 6-4-0 overall, including a near-perfect 5-1-0 mark in MIAC action.

• LAST ACTION: Due to COVID testing protocols, the Pipers have had their last five games — against Lake Forest, Lawrence, UW-Superior, and last weekend’s MIAC series against Saint Benedict — all canceled. HU has not played since Dec. 7, when they dropped a 4-1 decision to nationally ranked UW-Eau Claire at TRIA Rink.

• MIAC PREFERENCE: The Pipers have been dominant in conference play this season, sporting a 5-1-0 record — the lone loss a 5-3 loss to Augsburg on Nov. 13 — while outscoring their MIAC foes 24-10. Hamline closed out the nonconference portion of its schedule at 1-3-0, beating UW-Superior 2-0, and falling to UW-Eau Claire (twice) and Adrian (5-0).

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Sophie Rausch has been a goal-scoring machine for the Pipers, leading the team with nine goals, six more than Cheyenne Abear, Amanda Nylander, and Emme Nelson, who are all tied for second on the team with three goals. … Rausch has scored at least one goal in six of the team’s 10 games — including two goals against St. Catherine on Nov. 19 and three against St. Scholastica on Dec. 3.

• LENDING A HAND: Rausch and Molly Garin sit atop the team lead in assists with six each, followed by Abear and Rae Robert with four, and Jordan Hansen and Lauren Donnellan with three. … Abear and Garin have each recorded a two-assist game this season.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Rausch has amassed a team-best 15 points (9 G, 6 A), with Garin and Abear sitting second and third with eight (2 G, 6 A) and seven (3 G, 4 A) points, respectively.

• WINNER, WINNER …: Rausch and Jordan Hansen have each scored two game-winning goals this season, with Emme Nelson and Michaela Arnold accounting for the other two game-winners.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: McKenna Hulslander and Ava Bailey have shared the goaltending duties this season, with each making five starts. Hulslander owns a team-leading 1.82 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage in 296:56 minutes, while Bailey boasts a 2.62 GAA and .902 save percentage in 297:39 minutes. … Hulslander has stopped 143 shots, followed closely by Bailey with 119. … Both goalies are 3-2-0 on the year.

• AS A TEAM: Hamline has scored 29 goals and owns 35 assists for 64 points, including eight power-play tallies. … The Pipers have netted three or more goals in six of their 10 games — including a season-high six goals in shutting out St. Catherine 6-0 on Nov. 20.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: HU’s 4-1 loss to UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 7 snapped the Pipers’ two-game winning streak. Hamline has recorded two, two-game winning streaks this season. On the flip side, HU has not lost back-to-back games all year.