SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023-24: 0-0-0 MIAC, 3-1-0 Overall

HAMLINE PIPERS

Home | Roster | Stats | Schedule

2023-24: 0-0-0 MIAC, 2-1-0 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Fri. at HU: Live Stats * Streaming Video

Sat. vs. HU: Live Stats * Streaming Video

MIAC: WH Home *  Standings * Schedule

Social: Facebook * X * Threads * Instagram * YouTube

SMU-HAM * A YEAR AGO:

Nov. 11-12, 2022

L, 3-0; L, 4-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST WEEKEND:

Nov. 3, 2023 * Winona, MN

#7 UW-Eau Claire * W, 2-1

Nov. 4, 2023 * River Falls, WI

#4 UW-River Falls * L, 3-1

HAMLINE * LAST WEEKEND:

Nov. 3, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

UW-Superior * W, 5-2

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Nov. 17, 2023 * Winona, MN

Augsburg * 7 p.m.

Nov. 18, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * 3 p.m.

HAMLINE * UP NEXT: 

Nov. 17, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * 6 p.m.

Nov. 18, 2023 * St. Paul, MN

St. Olaf * 2 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into this weekend’s conference-opening games against Hamline sitting at 3-1 overall — having beaten Lake Forest twice and No. 7 UW-Eau Claire, while falling to No. 4 UW-River Falls 3-1.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s extended its season-opening winning streak to three with a 2-1 victory over No. 7 UW-Eau Claire last Friday, before suffering its first loss of the year, falling to No. 4 UW-River Falls 3-1 the following evening.

• LONG TIME COMING: With their 2-1 win over seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire last Friday, Saint Mary’s improved to 3-0-0, marking the first time SMU had opened the season with back-to-back-to-back victories since Marian (5-0), St. Norbert (2-1), and UW-Eau Claire (4-1) to kick off the 2010-11 campaign.

• HOME SWEET HOME: With their 2-1 win over #7 UW-Eau Claire, the Cardinals improved to 3-0-0 on their home ice this season. SMU’s 3-1 loss to #4 UW-River Falls marked the first road game of the season for SMU, which finished 5-9-1 away from the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena a year ago.

• FACING NATION’S BEST: The Cardinals have faced two nationally ranked teams through four games this season, beating seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire 2-1 on Nov. 3, before falling to #4 UW-River Falls the following day.

• PUTTING UP BIG. NUMBERS: SMU’s 8-0 win over Lake Forest on Oct. 28 were the most since blanking Lawrence 8-0 on Dec. 10, 2022. … The Cardinals’ 15 combined goals in sweeping Lake Forest last weekend were the most since SMU swept Bethel 11-0 and 8-3 on Jan. 4-5, 2002. … SMU has outscored its first four opponents 18-4 — including 17-1 in its three wins.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Fueled by her first collegiate hat trick against Lake Forest on Oct. 28, Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.) leads the team in goals with five — including a goal in each of SMU’s last three games. … 

Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.), Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.), Mikayla Vasilevich (Chicago, Ill.), and Maggie Albers (Maple Grove, Minn.) have all scored two goals, while Taverie Sherner (Maple Grove, Minn.), Sophie Paduano (Westby, Wis.), Ella Hennes (Ramsey, Minn.), Elli Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.), and Jordy Wyant (Winnipeg, Manitoba) own SMU’s other four goals. 

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Saint Mary’s has already had five players — Heitzman, Vasilevich, Albers, Hennes, and Paduano — net their first goals as Cardinals this season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: SMU opened the season with 10 different players scoring the Cardinals’ first 10 goals. Albers, Hennes Urlaub, Kraus, Sherner, Hegdahl, and Wyant accounted for SMU’s seven goals in its 7-0 win on Oct. 27, while Paduano, Vasilevich, and Heitzman netted SMU’s first three goals in the Cardinals’ 8-0 win vs. the Foresters the following afternoon. … The Cardinals had eight different players score goals in their 8-0 win over Lawrence last season.

• TOSSING THE HAT: Heitzman’s hat trick against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 — the first of her collegiate career — marked the second straight season in which SMU boasted a player with three goals in a game. Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) recorded her first collegiate hat trick and her first career five-point game in SMU’s 5-0 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 20, 2023.

• LENDING A HAND: Urlaub, who shared the team lead in assists with seven a year ago, has posted a team-best four helpers already this season, one more than Sherner and Skye Norgren (Fergus Falls, Minn.). Eleven other Cardinals have recorded at least one assist through four games. 

• POINT PRODUCERS: Heitzman sits atop the team’s points race with seven, one more than Urlaub, with Sherner sitting third with four. Albers, Kraus, Paduano, Norgren, and Kenzie Meland (Zimmerman, Minn.) have all posted three points through four games. … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in all four games this season.

• BIG NIGHTS: Heitzman and Vasilevich each recorded their first multiple-goal games against Lake Forest last Saturday, with Heitzman scoring three times and Vasilevich twice. … Urlaub delivered a goal and three assists in SMU’s 8-0 win over Lake Forest last Saturday. The three assists and four points matched her career high.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES:Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) has started all four games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.01 goals-against-average and a .960 save percentage. … Rimstad stopped all 24 shots she faced in SMU’s season-opening 7-0, 8-0 victories over Lake Forest on Oct. 27-28 — kicking out 10 shots in Game 1 and 14 more in Game 2. … Rimstad — who came within 13 seconds of a third straight shutout in SMU’s 2-1 win over #7 UW-Eau Claire — now owns four shutouts through her first 18 games as a Cardinal. … Rimstad, who recorded 252 saves last season, has stopped 95 of the 99 shots she’s faced this season — including a career-high 42 saves in last Saturday’s 3-1 loss to #4 UW-River Falls.

• THROWING UP ZEROS: The Cardinals had their season-opening shutout streak snapped at 179:47 minutes, when UW-Eau Claire scored with just 13 seconds remaining in regulation in the Cardinals’ 2-1 win over the seventh-ranked Blugolds last Friday.

• THROWING UP ZEROS II: SMU’s 7-0 and 8-0 wins over Lake Forest on Oct. 27-28 marked the second straight season in which the Cardinals posted back-to-back shutouts, having blanked Lawrence 3-0 and 8-0 on Dec. 9-10, 2022

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: SMU has outshot its opponents 114-99 — including 38-29 in the third period. … The Cardinals have scored eight of their 18 goals in the second period, adding four first-period goals and six in the game’s final stanza. … Saint Mary’s is 2-for-10 on the power play (20.0 %), while killing off 16 of its opponents 17 PP opportunities (93.8 %). … SMU posted season-highs in virtually every offensive category in its season-opening series against Lake Forest,. The Cardinals set season-bests for goals (8), assists (13), and points (21) in their 8-0 win over the Foresters on Oct. 28, while delivering a season-high 36 shots on goal the previous evening.

HAMLINE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Pipers enter their two-game conference-opening series against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-1-0 through three games this season

• LAST TIME OUT: Hamline picked up its second win of the year in its only game last weekend, beating UW-Superior 5-2 at TRIA Rink in St. Paul, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Friday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fourth straight home game for the Pipers, who have already host St. Norbert in a pair of nonconference game and UW-Superior. … HU closed out the 2022-23 season 8-5-0 on their home ice, while going 8-5-1 away from TRIA Rink.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Emme Nelson heads into the weekend leading the team with six goals. She is one of seven Pipers who have found the back of the net this season. Ashley Grabau, Annika Lindgren, and Sydney Lemke are second to Nelson with two goals each, with Haley Eder-Zdechlik, Cheyenne Abear, and Abigail Chamernick own HU’s other three goals. … Nikki Olund led the team with 10 goals a year ago, two more than Eder-Zdechlik and Morgan Wohlers.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Elizabeth Valley has collected assists on five of Hamline’s 12 goals, with Eder-Zdechlik close behind with four helpers. Grabau and Lemke each have two assists and four other Pipers have chipped in one. … Abear and Grabau were the team-leaders in assists with nine in 2022-23.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Valley and Eder-Zdechlik share the team lead in points with five, one more than Grabau and Lemke, with Nelson chipping in three points. … Hamline boasted five players — Eder-Zdechlik (16), Olund (16), Abear (13), Nelson (13), and Wohlers (11) — who delivered 10+ points last season.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Olivia Rinzel has played every minute of the Pipers’ first three games in goal, compiling a 2.01 goals-against-average and an .885 save percentage. … Rinzel has stopped 46 of the 52 shots she’s faced, including a season-high 16 saves against both St. Norbert (Oct. 28) and UW-Superior (Nov. 3) in her last two starts. … Rinzel stopped all 14 shots she faced in shutting out the Green Knights on Oct. 27.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Hamline holds a commanding 118-53 advantage in shots on goal, and has outscored its first three opponents 12-7. … HU has scored three power play goals on six tries, while allowing its opponents to just 1-for-6 (16.7 %) with the man advantage. … All three of HU’s games have been decided with the winning team scoring five goals. The Pipers own a season-high five-goal efforts against both St. Norbert (W, 5-0) and UW-Superior (5-2), while their lone loss is a 5-2 loss to the Green Knights. … Hamline has scored seven of its 12 goals in the second period, adding two goals in the first and three in the third. On the flip side, HU’s opponents have scored once in the first, twice in the second, and four times in the third.