SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(7-5-0 OVERALL)

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WORCESTER STATE LANCERS

(7-3-3 OVERALL)

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LAST MEETING:

First-ever meeting

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

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

WORCESTER STATE LAST ACTION: 

Dec. 14, 2021 * Salem State * W, 2-0

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Jan. 14, 2022 * St. Scholastica * Duluth, MN * 7:00

Jan. 15, 2022 * St. Scholastica * Duluth, MN * 2:00

WORCESTER STATE UP NEXT: 

Jan. 7, 2022 * Southern Maine * Worcester, MA * 7:10 

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their nonconference games against Worcester State boasting a 7-5-0 overall record, including a 5-1-0 mark in conference play.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals snapped a two-game losing streak on Wednesday, getting a third-period goal from Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.) and a 12-save shutout by Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) en route to a 1-0 nonconference win over Johnson & Wales in the teams’ first-ever meeting.

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

• FACING THE NATION’S BEST: Last Saturday’s matchup against No. 3 UW-Eau Claire 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.

• ON THE ROAD AGAIN: After playing seven of their previous eight games on their home ice — including last Saturday’s matchup against UW-Eau Claire — the Cardinals are in the midst of playing six consecutive contests away from the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena. SMU does not play at home again until Jan. 22, when they entertain Hamline in the second game of their two-game MIAC series.

• BUSY STRETCH: Thursday’s game at Worcester State is the fourth game in a six-day stretch for the Cardinals.

• SCORE GOALS, WIN GAMES: Saint Mary’s has scored 17 goals in its seven wins this season. The Cardinals have managed just two goals in their five losses.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.) and Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) — who accounted for all three of SMU’s goals against Saint Benedict on Nov. 19-20 — share the team lead with three goals each, with Nina Langley (Chaska, Minn.), Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta), Jordan Kurkowski (North Branch, Minn.) and Morgan Leib (Farmington Heights, Minn.) all owning two goals. Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.), Carolyn Chrastka (Franklin Park, Ill.), Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.) Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), and Avrey Simonson (Waupaca, Wis.), have scored the Cardinals’ other five 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: Pierpont scored her first collegiate goal against Johnson & Wales on Wednesday, becoming the eighth player 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: Urlaub, Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.), Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.) and Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) sit atop the team lead in assists with two each, while 11 other Cardinals have recorded one helper.

• THE GAME-WINNER: Both of Leib’s goals against Concordia on Nov. 12-13 were game-winners. Urlaub, Kurkowski, Langley, Kingston, and Pierpont owning 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. … 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 11 different players account for their 18 goals, while 16 have recorded at least one assist — and 18 have notched at least one point.

• YOUTH MOVEMENT: Fifteen of Saint Mary’s 19 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 Thursday’s matchup against Worcester State with a 2.30 goals-against-average and .907 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 165 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 12 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), and Johnson & Wales (1-0), while Saint Benedict, St. Norbert, UW-River Falls, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-Stevens Point scored first in the Cardinals’ four losses.

• 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.

• FOR THE RECORD: The Lancers enter Thursday’s matchup against Saint Mary’s boasting a 7-2-2 overall record.

• LAST ACTION: Shelby Reaugh and Cassidhe Wozniak scored for the Lancers and Amber Lee stopped all 22 shots she faced, as Worcester State blanked Salem State 2-0 on Dec. 14.

• ON A ROLL: With their latest shutout win over Salem State on Dec. 14, the Lancers pushed their unbeaten streak to seven (5-0-2). Worcester State has not lost since falling to Suffolk 5-1 on Nov. 6. The Lancers have outscored their opponents 24-11 during its current five-game run.

• PROGRAM FIRSTS: Worcester — in its first year as a varsity program — picked up its first win, in its first game, beating Arcadia 5-0 on Oct. 30. … Wozniak netted the program’s first goal — and its first hat trick — against Arcadia on Oct. 29, while Lee stopped all 22 shots she faced for the program’s first shutout.

• RARE HOME DOUBLE-DIP: Thursday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back home games for the Lancers, who have played just three of their first 11 contests on their home ice. Worcester State is 1-1-1 at home, while going 6-1-1 on the road this season.

• OFFENSIVE SPARKPLUG: Wozniak’s goal against Salem State on Dec. 14 was her team-leading eighth of the season. She is one of 11 Lancers who have found the back of the net this season. … Katie Puumala is second to Wozniak with six goals, one more than both Clare Conway and Shelby Reaugh.

• TOSSING THE HAT: Worcester State has had two players record hat tricks this season — Wozniak achieved the feat in the Lancers’ season-opener against Arcadia on Oct. 30, while Puumala scored three times against Western New England on Nov. 13.

• HELPING OUT: Conway has dished out a team-high eight assists, followed by Sydney Vautour with seven, and Puumala, Wozniak, and Kylian Kelly with six. … The Lancers have had a player record two assists in a game 10 times this season — led by Conway, Wozniak, and Kelly, who have all done it twice.

• RACKING UP THE POINTS: Wozniak and Conway both head into the Lancers’ showdown with Saint Mary’s owning 10 or more points — Wozniak leads the way with 14, one more than Conway. … Wozniak has recorded three points in a game twice, with Puumala accounting for the Lancers’ other three-point game.

• WINNING TOUCH: Reaugh has accounted for three of the Lancers’ seven game-winning goals, with Puumala netted a pair of game-winners, and Conway and Wozniak accounting for the other two.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Lee has been the workhorse in goal for Worcester State, starting all 11 games, while compiling a 1.81 goals-against-average and .945 save percentage. Lee has stopped 341 of the 361 shots she’s faced this season and owns three shutouts.

• AS A TEAM: The Lancers have scored 35 goals and added 55 assists for 90 points in 11 games. … Worcester State has scored four or more goals four times, including a season-high seven in blanking Rivier 7-0 on Nov. 27. … Worcester has been held to two goals or less five times, going 2-2-1 in those five contests.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Worcester State has played four overtime games this season — beating Arcadia (3-2) and Salve Regina (2-1), and tying Western New England (4-4) and Connecticut College (2-2).