SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 1-1-0 MIAC, 1-5-0 Overall

AUGSBURG AUGGIES

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

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SMU-AUG * A YEAR AGO:

L, 4-0; L, 5-2 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 11-12, 2023

at UW-Stevens Pt * L, 5-2

at UW-Superior * L, 4-2

AUGSBURG * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 11, 2023 * Ashland, WI

Northland * W, 5-3

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Nov. 21, 2023 * Winona, MN

Lawrence * 7:05 p.m.

AUGSBURG * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 1, 2023 * Minneapolis, MN

St. Olaf * 7:05 p.m.

Dec. 2, 2023 * Northfield, MN

St. Olaf * 7 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s returns to conference play for its two games against Augsburg this weekend sitting at 1-5-0 overall, including sporting a 1-1-0 record after its first two MIAC contests.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals lost both of its road nonconference games last weekend, falling to UW-Stevens Point 5-2 and UW-Superior 4-2. SMU held one-goal leads in both games, but surrendered three unanswered tallies in each game.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Last Friday’s game against Hamline was not only the first MIAC contest for the Cardinals, but also SMU’s first home game of the young season. The Cardinals, who have played five of their first six games on the road this season, played 14 of its 25 games in 2022-23 on their home ice, finishing 6-7-1.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.), who scored one of SMU’s four goals last weekend, leads the Cardinals in goals with three, while Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau, Wis.) and Colin Tushie (Prior Lake, Minn.) have each netted a pair of goals. Clay Allen (Anchorage, Alaska) and Cooper Smyl () have accounted for SMU’s other two goals. … Winter netted SMU’s first goal of the season at 3:13 of the first period in SMU’s 6-3 loss to MSOE on Oct. 28.

• FIRST COLLEGIATE GOAL: SMU boasts two players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season. Allen’s goal against MSOE on Oct. 28 was the first of his collegiate career, while Smyl’s tally against UW-Superior was his first in a Cardinal uniform. … Saint Mary’s had six players who scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform a year ago.

• LENDING A HAND: Blake Arneson (Red Wing, Minn.) and Jack Campion (Crystal, Minn.) share the team lead in assists with two, while Winter, Tharaldson, Tushie, Luke Cioli (), Callahan Nauss (Maple Plain, Minn.), Jackson Nauss (Maple Plain, Minn.), and Noah Kiemel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) have all chipped in one helper. … Tharaldson racked up a team-leading 12 assists last season.

• POINT PRODUCERS: With his three goals and single assist, Winter sits atop the Cardinals’ early points race with four, one more than Tharaldson and Tushie, with Arneson and Campion each owning two points. … Tharaldson and Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.) led the Cardinals last season with 16 and 15 points, respectively. 

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) has started four of SMU’s six games in goal, compiling a 2.79 goals-against-average and .916 save percentage. … A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) has made the other two starts between the pipes, boasting a 5.57 GAA and .859 save %. … Sankner locked up his second career shutout in SMU’s 2-0, conference-opening win over Hamline on Nov. 3, stopping all 24 shots he faced. … Sankner has amassed 120 saves in four starts — including a season-high 34-save effort against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 — while Ruskowski kicked out a season-best 37 shots against the Foresters the previous evening. … Sankner delivered a career-high 45-save effort performance against Augsburg on Nov. 18, 2022, while Ruskowski stopped a career-best 42 shots against St. Olaf on Jan. 13, 2023.

• FROM DEFENSE TO OFFENSE: Sankner collected his first collegiate assist, getting the lone helper on Sheberov’s first goal in the second period SMU’s 6-3 win over Lawrence on Jan. 2, 2023. … Sankner’s assist is the first by a Cardinal goalie since Nick Nash picked up an assist against Gustavus on Oct. 26, 2018.

• SCORING FIRST: Saint Mary’s has scored first in three of its first six games, going 1-2-0 when netting the game’s first goal. … SMU is now 15-7-0 when scoring first since the start of the 2021-22 season, while going 2-17-1 when their opponent nets the game’s first goal.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Seven of Saint Mary’s nine goals have come at even strength. The Cardinals netted their first two power-play goals last Saturday in their 4-2 loss to UW-Superior. … SMU has gone 2-for-29 with the man advantage through four games. SMU’s opponents, meanwhile, own seven of their 26 goals on the power play, going 7-for-27 with the man advantage, while also adding one shorthanded tally. … SMU has scored three times in the first period, four times in the second, and twice in the third. Eleven of the 26 goals allowed by the Cardinals have come in the second period. SMU has also surrendered six first-period goals and nine in the game’s final stanza.

AUGSBURG SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Auggies head into their conference-opening weekend series against Saint Mary’s sitting at 2-2-1 overall through their first five games of the season.

• LAST TIME OUT: Augsburg scored the first four goals of the game, and held on to get back on the winning streak with a 5-3 nonconference win over Northland last Saturday in Ashland, Wis.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Friday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fourth home game in five contests this season for the Auggies, who are 1-1-1 on their home sheet, while going 1-1-0 away from Ed Saugestad Rink. … Augsburg finished 9-2-2 at home last season, while sporting a 7-8-0 mark on the road.

• POST-SEASON RUN: The Auggies claimed their sixth MIAC Playoff title with a 4-1 win over St. Scholastica in the conference tournament title game last season. With the win, Augsburg made its eighth NCAA Division III national tournament appearance, falling to UW-Stevens Point 2-1 in the opening round. … Augsburg has now won five MIAC Playoff titles in the last seven years.

• ROLLERCOASTER RIDE: After opening the season with three games decided by one goal or less — including a 5-4 overtime loss to #14 UW-Eau Claire, a 2-1 win over UW-Superior, and a 3-3 tie against UW-Stout — the Auggies last two games have been lopsided affairs. Augsburg dropped a 6-2 decision to Marian on Nov. 8, before beating Northland 5-3 in its last action last Saturday.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Augsburg’s 16 goals this season have come from 12 different players — led by Cade Stibbe, who owns a team-best three goals. Erik Palmqvist and Fritz Belisle are second on the team with two goals each, with Daniel Chladek, Jake Hale, Peyton Hanson, Nick Catalano, Luke Mountain, Dylan Schneider, Vincent Weis, Kyler Yeo, and Blaine Warnert all chipping in one goal. … Schneider and Belisle own the Auggies’ two game-winning goals. … The Auggies have not had a multiple-goal scorer through the season’s first five games.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Stibbe, Palmqvist, Chladek, and Landon Parker all share the team lead in assists with four, two more than Hale, Hanson, and Duke Kiffin. …Kiffin, Stibbe, and Chladek have all collected two-assist games this season.

• POINT PRODUCERS: With his three goals and four assists, Stibbe sits atop the Auggies’ points lead with seven, one more than Palmqvist. Chladek has five points, and Parker is fourth on the squad with four. … Stibbe collected a season-high three-point game (1 G, 2 A) against Northland last Saturday.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Samuel Vyletelka has played every minute of the team’s first five games in goal, compiling a 3.35 goals-against-average and .899 save percentage. … Vyletelka has stopped 152 of the 169 shots he’s faced and has made 30 or more saves in three of his five starts — including a season-high 35-save effort against Marian on Nov. 8.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Auggies have been outshot 170-155, but their opponents holds just an 18-16 edge in goals scored. … Augsburg has scored two goals on 15 power-play chances (13.3 %), while killing off 14 of its opponents’ 19 man-advantage opportunities (73.7 %). … Augsburg has outscored its opponents in both the first (7-5) and second (6-3) periods, but have been outscored 9-3 in the third and 1-0 in OT. … Augsburg posted season-highs in goals (5), assists (8), points (13), and shots on goal (45) in last Saturday’s 5-3 win over Northland. On the flip side, the Auggies surrendered season-highs in goals (6), assists (11), points (17), and shots on goal (41) in their 6-2 loss to Marina on Nov. 8.