SAINT MARY'S CARDINALS 

(4-6-0 MIAC, 7-12-1 Overall)

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BETHEL ROYALS

(6-7-1 MIAC, 13-9-1 Overall)

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A YEAR AGO:

W, 5-4 * W, 6-5 (OT) * Series History

SAINT MARY'S LAST ACTION:

Feb. 11, 2022 * Augsburg * L, 5-4

Feb. 12, 2022 * Augsburg * L, 7-3

BETHEL LAST ACTION: 

Feb. 11, 2022 * Concordia * W, 5-3

Feb. 12, 2022 * Concordia * L, 5-1

SAINT MARY'S UP NEXT:

Feb. 19, 2022 * Bethel * 7:00

Bethel Arena * Blaine, MN

BETHEL UP NEXT: 

Feb. 19, 2022 * Saint Mary’s * 7:00

Bethel Arena * Blaine, MN

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s enters its two-game series against Bethel sitting at 7-12-1 overall, including a 4-6-0 record in 10 conference games.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Cardinals dropped both games of its two-game MIAC series against league-leading Augsburg last weekend. SMU came up one goal short in it upset bid against fourth-ranked Augsburg last Friday, as the Auggies scored two late-third period goals in beating Saint Mary’s 5-4 in Minneapolis, Minn. Augsburg rattled off six unanswered goals and went on to a 7-3 victory in the rematch the following evening at SMU Ice Arena.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals’ 11 goals in their last three games — four against Gustavus on Feb. 8, four vs. Augsburg last Friday, and three the following evening — have come from 10 different players. Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.) netted goals in each of SMU’s two games against Augsburg, while Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta), Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.), Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ill.), Nick Kiemel (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Nathan Solis (Saline, Mich.), Warner Young (Newberry, Mich.), Callahan Nauss (Wayzata, Minn.), Matt Hutton (Carmel, Ind.), and Alex Cannon (South Bend, Ind.) have accounted for the other nine.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH, PART II: Saint Mary’s 10 points against the Auggies last Friday — four goals and six assists — came to from 10 different players.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: With his goals against Augsburg Friday, Potyk moved into the team lead with six goals, one more than Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.). Stoynich, Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.) and Brady Lindauer (Cary, Ill.) have all scored four times, while Hutton, Nick Kiemel, Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa) and Kasyn Kruse (Luverne, Minn.) have all chipped in three goals.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: The Cardinals boast nine players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Cannon, Nauss, Young, Kruse, Poellinger, Potyk, Hutton, Solis, Trevor Paradise (Colorado Springs, Colo.), and Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau, Wis.).

• LENDING A HAND: The Cardinals had three players — Hutton, Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario), and Cannon pick up two assists in SMU’s 4-1 win over Gustavus on Feb. 8. … Nauss recorded a career-high four assists and Kellen Tharaldson chipped in a pair of helpers in SMU’s 4-1 win over Hamline on Jan. 21.

• LENDING A HAND, TAKE 2: With his two helpers against Gustavus on Feb. 8 and another against Augsburg last  Friday, Hutton moved into the team lead with nine assists, one more than Lindauer and two in front of Schroder and Nauss.

• GIVING AN ASSIST x 4: Nauss’ four assists against Hamline on Jan. 21 marked the first time Saint Mary’s has had a player record four helpers in a game since Jack Stang achieved the feat against Augsburg on Jan. 31, 2020. 

• POINT PRODUCERS: Lindauer and Hutton moved into a tie for the team lead in points with 12 each — both recorded one point in both games against Augsburg last weekend — followed by Schroder with 10 and Stoynich with nine.

• NETTING THE GAME-WINNER: Saint Mary’s seven game-winning goals this season have come from seven different players — Hutton, Poellinger, Schroder, Stoynich, Kruse, Potyk, and Liverance.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) owns a 2.97 goals-against-average and a .908 save percentage in 12 appearances. Sankner, who recorded his first collegiate win with a career-high 35-save effort against Saint John’s on Nov. 18, equaled that career-high with 35 saves against MSOE on Dec. 7. Sankner has stopped 30 or more shots four times this season.… Connor Close (Des Moines, Iowa) recorded a season-high 32-save showing in the Cardinals’ 2-1 loss to Hamline on Jan. 22. Close — who collected his first collegiate win against UW-River Falls on Jan. 15 — enters the weekend with a 2.78 goals-against-average and an .897 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 4.57 GAA and an .860 save percentage.

• AS A TEAM: The Cardinals have scored 50 goals through their first 19 games, including 10 on the power-play. Saint Mary’s has scored a season-high four goals five times this season — beating Gustavus 4-1 on Feb. 8 Hamline 4-2 on Jan. 21, UW-Superior 4-3 on Nov. 5, and St. Olaf 4-1 on Dec. 3; and falling to Augsburg 5-4 last Friday.

• FIRST-GOAL SUCCESS: In 16 of Saint Mary’s 20 games this season, the team that has scored first has gone on to win. The Cardinals are 5-1-0 when scoring first, while going 2-11-1 when their opponent nets the game’s first goal.

• WORKING OVERTIME: The Cardinals’ 3-3 tie against Lawrence on Nov. 23 was 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 Royals head into their regular-season series finale against Saint Mary’s sitting at 13-9-1 overall, including a 6-7-1 showing in 14 conference games, leaving BU sitting in fourth in the MIAC standings.

• LAST TIME OUT: Bethel settled for a split in its two-game series against Concordia last weekend in Moorhead, Minn., beating the Cobbers 5-4 on Friday, before managing just one goal in falling to CC 5-1 in the rematch the following afternoon.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Friday’s game at Saint Mary’s is the fourth straight road game for the Royals, who are sitting at 5-5-1 on the road this season, while sporting an 8-4-0 mark in games played at Bethel Arena.

• QUICK START: Bethel kicked off its season with five consecutive wins — including three in overtime — and were sitting at 6-1-1 through eight games. Since that time, BU is 7-8-0, including 1-3-0 in its last four.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Dylan Giorgio has scored a team-leading 10 goals this season, two more than Luke Posner, while Jarrett Cammarata, Jake Herter, and Adam Bricker have all netted five goals. … Posner owns the team’s lone hat trick this season, scoring three times against UW-Stout on Oct. 29.

• DISHING OUT THE ASSIST: Cammarata boasts a team-leading 16 assists — leaving him sitting fifth in the conference. Cammarata is one of three Royals who are sitting in double digits in helpers, being joined by Ben Doherty and Braeden Bartoo with 10 each. … Doherty collected a season-high three helpers against Finlandia on Nov. 6.

• POINTS RACE: Bethel boasts seven players who have amassed 10 or more points this season, led by Cammarata with 21. Posner (17), Giorgio (16), Doherty (14), Bartoo (13), Sam Wilhite (11), and Jack Bayless (10) are the others. … Bethel has three players — Bartoo (twice), Doherty, and Posner — who own three-point games.

• NETTING THE WINNER: Cammarata, Posner, and Bartoo have all recorded two game-winning goals this season, with Giorgio, Doherty, Wilhite, Ben Ward, Jake Herter, Caydon Meyer, and Brian Smith owning the other seven.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Three different goalies have seen time in goal for the Royals, led by Ridge Gerads, who has compiled a 2.25 goals-against-average and .925 save percentage in 15 appearances, including 14 starts. Travis Allen (2.29 GAA, .928 save %) has started eight of the 10 games he’s played in, while Sam Metcalf (9.25 GAA, .793 save %) has played in four games, including one start. … Gerads has made 396 saves, followed by Allen with 246. Gerads owns two shutouts and Allen has posted one.

• AS A TEAM: The Royals have scored 70 goals — including 16 power-play goals and a pair of shorthanded tallies — and own 113 assists for 183 points this season. … Bethel has scored four of more goals in a game nine times — including netting a season-high seven goals twice. BU beating Finlandia 7-0 on Nov. 6 and topped Hamline 7-3 on Jan. 29. … Four of Bethel’s nine losses have been by two goals or less.

• WORKING OVERTIME: Bethel has played six overtime games this season, going 4-1-1. BU has beaten UW-Stout (3-2), Finlandia (4-3), Saint John’s (1-0), and Hamline (3-2); lost to UW-Stout (3-2), and tied Gustavus (2-2).