HEAD COACH:

• Sarah Murray (4th season)

THE RECORDS: 

• 2021-22: 9-5-2 MIAC | 13-10-2 Overall

IN THE POST-SEASON:

• MIAC Playoffs: v. Saint Benedict (W, 5-3); at Hamline (L, 4-2)

RETURNERS TO WATCH:

• Sydney Green (Senior * Defense | 2021-22: 24 GP, 0 G, 4 A, 4 Pts; | 2019-2020 MIAC All-Rookie Team. … Recorded her first collegiate goal — and her first career two-point game — against St. Olaf on Feb. 14, 2020).

• Jordan Keeley (Senior * Goalie | 2021-22: 10 GP, 2.23 GAA, .920 save percentage | Posted career bests in both GAA (2.23) and save percentage (.920) a year ago. … Stopped a career-high 43 shots against nationally ranked Adrian on Nov. 3, 2020. … Finalist for 2021-22 Hockey Humanitarian Award).

• Kas Kingston (Sophomore * Defense/Forward | 2021-22: 25 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 Pts; 2021-22 honorable-mention All-MIAC & All-MIAC Rookie Team. … Scored first collegiate goal — and recorded first collegiate multiple-point game — against St. Olaf on Dec. 3, 2021).

• Anna Braun (Sophomore * Forward | 23 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 Pts; Finished 2021-22 among top three in both goals and assists, and led the team in points (8). … Scored first collegiate goal — in first collegiate game — against St. Norbert on Oct. 29, 2021).

• Sidney Polzin (Sophomore * Forward | 2021-22: 25 GP, 5 G, 2 A, 7 Pts; Led team in goals in 2021-22 and was second in points. … Scored first collegiate goal against Concordia on Nov. 12, 2021).

• Allie Urlaub (Sophomore * Forward | 2021-22: 25 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 Pts; Finished freshman campaign secondo n the team in goals (4) and points (7), and was third in assists (3). … Netted first goal in a Cardinal uniform against Concordia on Nov. 12, 2021, and her first collegiate two-goal game vs. Saint Benedict on Nov. 19, 2021).

BY THE NUMBERS: 

• 0 x 3: Saint Mary’s goalies Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) and Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) combined for three shutouts a year ago. Ziakas recorded two shutouts during her final season in 2021-22 — stopping all 12 shots she faced against Johnson & Wales on Jan. 5, and added a 29-save effort in blanking St. Catherine on Feb. 4, while Keeley collected the other, stopping all 19 shots in a 0-0 tie with Bethel on Feb. 19.

• 2 x 2: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) and Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta) each collected two MIAC post-season honors in 2021-22. Ziakas was named First-Team All-MIAC — as well as Co-MIAC Player of the Year — while Kingston was an honorable-mention selection and a member of the MIAC All-Rookie Team.

• 3: Jordan Keeley (St. Peter, Minn.) was named a finalist for the 2022 Hockey Humanitarian Award, marking the third straight year in which the Cardinals boasted an HHA finalist. Delaney Wolf was a finalist in 2020, and was named the HHA recipient in 2021.

• 10: Saint Mary’s closed out the year with 10 players netting their first goals in a Cardinal uniform — Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), Ellie Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.), Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta), Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.), Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.), Morgan Leib (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Jenna Kurkowski (North Branch, Minn.), Abigail Painovich (Hinckley, Minn.), Katie Pierpont (Holt, Mich.), and Nina Langley (Chaska, Minn.).

• 13: The Cardinals 13 wins in 2021-22 were the most since the 2003-04 season, when Saint Mary’s finished 15-9-2, and the sixth-most victories in program history.

• 55: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) posted the best performance of her five-year collegiate career against Gustavus on Jan. 28, 2022, stopping 55 of the 56 shots she faced. The 55 saves were the most since Ashley Corcoran made 56 saves against Gustavus on Feb. 3, 2017. … 

DID YOU KNOW?

• The team that scored first won 21 of the Cardinals’ 25 games this season — the lone exceptions, SMU’s come-from-behind wins over Hamline (3-2) and Augsburg (2-1), its 4-3 OT loss to Bethel, and its 1-1 tie against Gustavus on Jan. 28.

DID YOU KNOW, PART II?

• The Cardinals’ 0-0 tie against Bethel in the teams’ regular-season finale on Feb. 19 marked the second straight season in which the Cardinals have played to a scoreless draw. SMU and Concordia played 65 minutes without a goal being scored on Nov. 6, 2021. Saint Mary’s has now played to a 0-0 tie four times in program history — twice coming against Concordia, with the other two against Bethel and St. Thomas.

DID YOU KNOW PART III?

• The Cardinals’ two games against national runner-up Gustavus on Jan. 28-29 marked the third and fourth times this season SMU will have faced a nationally ranked opponent. The Cardinals have already faced then-No. 3 UW-Eau Claire and then-No. 4 UW-River Falls last season.

THIS AND THAT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals closed out the 2021-22 season with a 13-10-2 overall record, including a 9-5-2 mark in conference play, good for this place in the regular-season standings and a No. 3 seed in the MIAC Playoffs.

• IN THE POST-SEASON: Saint Mary’s erupted for a season-high five goals — including two in each of the final two periods — in rolling past Saint Benedict 5-3 in the MIAC Playoffs quarterfinals on Feb. 26, before falling to second-seeded Hamline 4-2 on March 2.

• MIAC HISTORY: Saint Mary’s made its 10th appearance in the MIAC Playoffs and their first since 2020. The Cardinals have also appeared in the conference’s post-season tournament in 2019, 2016, 2015, 2010, 2007, 2006, 2005, and 2004.

• WINNING THE CLOSE ONES: With their 5-3 win and 4-2 loss in the MIAC Playoffs, 16 of SMU’s 25 games were decided by two goals or less, including 11 of their 13 wins.

• HOME & ROAD ICE ADVANTAGE: The Cardinals closed out the season with a 7-5-0 record on the road, while sitting at 6-5-2 at the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena.

• SCORE GOALS, WIN GAMES: Saint Mary’s scored 35 goals in its 13 wins this season — including three games with four or more goals. On the flip side, the Cardinals managed just nine goals in their 10 losses.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) closed out her freshman campaign scoring a team-leading five goals, one more than Morgan Leib (Farmington Hills, Mich.), Anna Braun (Mantorville, Minn.), Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta), Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.), and Elie Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.). Delaney Wolf (Bismarck, N.D.) and Jenna Kurkowski both chipped in three goals.

• LENDING A HAND: Avrey Simonson (Waupaca, Wis.) finished the year — and her collegiate career — as the team’s assist lead with five helpers, one more than Braun, Wolf, and Sydney Green (East Bethel, Minn.). Urlaub, Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.), Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.), Amber Miller (Kasson, Minn.), and Jordan Modjeski (South Lyon, Mich.) 

• POINT PRODUCERS: Braun recorded a team-best eight points in 2021-22, followed by Polzin, Urlaub, and Wolf with seven each. Kingston, Leib, Sheridan, and Simonson were all two points back of the team lead with six.

• THE GAME-WINNER: Leib, Kingston and Kurkowski have each netted two game-winning goals, with Carmean, Urlaub, Langley, Pierpont, Polzin, Hegdahl, and Wolf accounting for Saint Mary’s other seven game-winners this season.

• 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.

• 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 Carmean scored two goals and added an assist against Saint Benedict on March 13, 2021. … Braun (1 G, 1 A), Kraus (1 G, 1 A), Polzin (1 G, 1 A), Hegdahl (1 G, 1 A), Kingston (! G, 1 A), and Simonson (2 A) also posted multiple-point games this season. It was the first collegiate multiple-point game for all except Braun, who now owns to games with multiple points.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.) and Jordan Keeley (St. James, Minn.) have shared the goaltending duties this season. Ziakas closed out the season with a 2.44 goals-against-average and .914 save percentage, while Keeley compiled a 2.33 GAA and .920 save %. … Keeley kicked out a career-high 44 Concordia shots in SMU’s 3-1 win over the Cobbers on Nov. 13. … Ziakas collected a team-leading 488 saves, with Keeley owning 162 saves.

• FIT TO BE TIED: With their 1-1 stalemate against Gustavus on Jan. 28, the Cardinals have now played the Gusties to a draw at least once in each of the last four seasons.

• 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.

• STREAK-SNAPPER: The Cardinals snapped a 10-game winless streak (0-9-1) against Hamline with their 3-2 win over the Pipers on Jan. 21.

• BRING OUT THE BROOMS: Saint Mary’s 3-1, 2-1 wins over Augsburg on Feb. 11-12 marked the third conference sweep of the season for the Cardinals, who also swept St. Olaf (2-1, 2-1) and Concordia (3-2, 3-1).