SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 6-2-0 Overall

UW-STEVENS POINT POINTERS

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2023-24: 3-5-0 Overall

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SMU-UWSP * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 7, 2023 * Winona, MN

W, 2-1 (ot) * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 17-18, 2023

Augsburg * W, 3-2; W, 2-1

UW-STEVENS POINT * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 17, 2023

#15 St. Norberg * W, 5-2

Nov. 18, 2023

UW-Superior * L, 5-1

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 1, 2023 * Winona, MN

Gustavus * 7 p.m.

Dec. 2, 2023 * St. Peter, MN

Gustavus * 2 p.m.

UW-STEVENS POINT * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 2, 2023 * Ashland, WI

Northland * 2 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their nonconference showdown at UW-Stevens Point sitting at 6-2-0 overall, including a 3-1-0 showing through the first two games of the conference season.

• LAST ACTION: Saint Mary’s picked up a pair of key, one-goal wins over Augsburg last weekend, beating the Auggies 3-2 at the SMU Ice Arena last Friday, before picking up a 2-1, road victory in Minneapolis, Minn., the following afternoon.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Last Friday’s game against Augsburg was the fifth home game of the season for the Cardinals, who are 4-1-0 at home, while going 2-1-0 on the road.

• CLOSE CALLS: The Cardinals’ last six games have all been decided by two goals or less — including one-goal decisions in their last three outings — a 2-1 OT loss to Hamline, and 3-2 and 2-1 wins over Augsburg.

• PUTTING UP BIG. NUMBERS: SMU’s eight goals in its 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: Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.) scored her team-leading seventh, eighth, and ninth goals of the season against Augsburg last weekend. The freshman scored twice last Friday’s 3-2 win and added another in SMU’s 2-1 victory the following afternoon. … Heitzman has now scored a goal in six of the team’s eight games this season. … Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.) and Mikayla Vasilevich (Chicago, Ill.) are second to Heitzman with three goals each, followed by Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.), Sophie Paduano (Westby, Wis.), Kennedy Kraus (Kasson, Minn.) and Maggie Albers (Maple Grove, Minn.) with two goals each. … Heitzman has recorded two multiple-goal games — scoring three times against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 and adding a pair of goals in last Friday’s win over Augsburg.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Saint Mary’s has already had six players — Heitzman, Vasilevich, Albers, Midtbo, Paduano, and Ella Hennes (Ramsey, Minn.) — net their first goals as Cardinals this season.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Cardinals opened the season with 10 different players scoring their first 10 goals. Albers, Hennes Urlaub, Kraus, Taverie Sherner (Maple Grove, Minn.), Ellie Hegdahl (Brookings, S.D.), and Jordy Wyant (Winnipeg, Manitoba) 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. … SMU’s five goals in its 4-2 win and 2-1 loss to Hamline also came from five different players … 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 already matched that mark with a team-best seven helpers through eight games. Kenzie Meland (Zimmerman, Minn.) is second on the team with five assists, followed by Heitzman, Midtbo, Sherner, Skye Norgren (Fergus Falls, Minn.), and Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.). … Saint Mary’s 38 assists have come from 16 different players.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Heitzman and Urlaub have both already reached double figures in points through eight games, with Heitzman leading the charge with 12 points, two more than Urlaub. followed by Meland and Midtbo with five, Paudano and Sherner with four, and Albers, Kraus, Vasilevich, Norgren, and Phillips with four. … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in all eight 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 on Oct. 28. The three assists and four points matched her career high.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES:Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) has started all eight games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.38 goals-against-average and a .950 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 two seasons as a Cardinal. … Rimstad, who recorded 252 saves last season, has stopped 210 of the 221 shots she’s faced this season — including a career-high 42 saves in last SMU’s 3-1 loss to #4 UW-River Falls on Nov. 4.

• 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

• LONG TIME COMING: With their 2-1 win over seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 3, 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.

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

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: SMU has been outshot 221-209, but has outscored its first eight opponents 28-11. … The Cardinals have outshot their opponents 72-60 in the second period, but have been outshot 83-73 in the first and 77-63 in the third. … The Cardinals have scored 12 of their 28 goals in the second period, adding eight tallies in both the first and third periods. … Saint Mary’s is 3-for-21 on the power play (14.3 %), while killing off 26 of its opponents 27 PP opportunities (96.3 %). … 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 against the Foresters the previous evening.

UW-STEVENS POINT SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Pointers head into their home nonconference game against Saint Mary’s sporting a 3-5-0 overall record, including an 0-2-0 showing in their first two WIAC contests.

• LAST TIME OUT: UW-Stevens Point split its two games last weekend, knocking off 15th-ranked St. Norbert 5-2 on the road on Saturday, only to fall to UW-Superior 5-1 at home the following day.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Tuesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fourth home game in the last five contests for the Pointers. The lone road game in that span, last Tuesday’s 5-2 win over to #15 St. Norbert. … The Pointers own a 1-3-0 record on their home ice, while sitting at 2-2-0- away from K.B. Willett Arena.

• NOT TO CLOSE CALLS: After opening the season with four straight games decided by two goals or less, the Pointers’ last four games have had margins of victory of four (W, 4-0), five (L, 6-1), three (W, 4-2), and four (L, 5-1).

• AGAINST THE MIAC: Tuesday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fifth of seven games against teams from the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. UW-SP has already faced St. Olaf (L, 1-0, L, 4-3), St. Catherine (L, 2-0, W, 4-0), and still have Augsburg (Dec. 8) and Hamline (Jan. 6) on their slate.

• TOP-NOTCH FOES: UW-Stevens Point has faced two nationally-ranked teams this season — falling to No. 4 UW-River Falls 6-1, while beating No. 15 St. Norbert (5-2).

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Courtney Leising — who led the team in goals with 10 a year ago — enters Tuesday’s showdown with Saint Mary’s leading once again the Pointers with five goals, two more than Annika Horman and Sara Aadalen. Maddie Andrle, Riley Novak, Grace Torma, Alyssa Yokom, Katie Stanius, and Lauren Wincetsen have accounted for UW-SP’s other six goals. … 

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Along with her team-best five goals, Leising also owns a team-leading four assists, followed by Annika Horman with three and Aadalen with two. … Andrle, Novak, Torma, Yokom, Natalie Ahern, Josie Bender, Ali Granovsky, Molly Miller, and Amanda Pouchnik have also delivered an assist this season. … 

• POINT PRODUCERS: With five goals and four assists, Leising sits atop the team’s points race with nine. Horman is sitting second with six points, one more than Aadalen, with Andrle, Novak, Torma, and Yokom each chipping in two.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Emily Griege and Anne Beck have shared the goaltending duties this season, with Griege making five starts, while Beck has started the other three games. … Griege owns a 2.43 goals-against-average and .911 save percentage, with Beck compiling a 2.71 GAA and .905 save %. … Griege has made 123 saves in her five starts, including a season-high 43-save effort against No. 4 UW-River Falls on Nov. 9. Beck, meanwhile, boasts 76 saves, with a season-high 34-save showing against St. Olaf on Oct. 28. … Griege posted UW-SP’s lone assist this season, stopping all 15 shots she faced against St. Catherine on Nov. 5.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: UW-Stevens Point has been outscored 21-17 through eight games, and have scored 16 of its 17 goals at even strength. The Pointers are just 1 of 27 on the power play (3.7 %), while their opponents have netted five PP goals on 37 tries (15.6 %). … UW-SP has been outshot 220-194 — including 76-51 in the second period. … UW-SP has outscored its opponents 5-4 in the first period, but have been outscored 8-4 in the second and 7-3 in the third. … UW-Stevens Point set season-highs in goals (5), assists (5), and points (10) against St. Norbert on Nov. 14, while posting a season-best 39 shots on goal against UW-Superior last Saturday. … UW-River Falls’ six goals scored in the Falcons’ 6-1 win on Nov. 9 are the most allowed by the Pointers this season.