SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 1-3-0 MIAC, 2-7-0 Overall

GUSTAVUS GUSTIES

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2023-24: 1-3-0 MIAC, 4-4-1 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Fri: SMU at GAC -  Stats * Video

Sat: GAC at SMU -  Stats * Video

MIAC: MH Home *  Standings * Schedule

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SMU-GAC * LAST MEETING:

Dec. 2-3, 2023

W, 4-1; W, 4-3 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 21, 2023 * Winona, MN

Lawrence * W, 8-4

GUSTAVUS * LAST ACTION:

Nov. 21, 2023 * St. Peter, MN

UW-Stout * W. 5-2

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Dec. 8, 2023 * Winona, MN

University of Dubuque * 7:05 p.m.

GUSTAVUS * UP NEXT: 

Dec. 8-9, 2023 * Mequon, WI

Concordia-WI * 7 p.m./3 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: Saint Mary’s returns to conference play against Gustavus this weekend sitting at 2-7-0 overall, including sporting a 1-3-0 record after its first four MIAC contests.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals erupted for a season-high eight goals — including six in the second period — as SMU cruised to an 8-4 nonconference win over Lawrence on Nov. 21.

• HOME SWEET HOME: After playing just two of their first eight games at home, the Cardinals are in the midst of playing seven of eight contests on their home sheet. … Following Friday’s trip to Gustavus, Saint Mary’s will rattle off five consecutive home games — Gustavus (Dec. 2), the University of Dubuque (Dec. 8), Northland (Jan. 5), UW-Eau Claire (Jan. 6), and St. Olaf (Jan. 6). … SMU is sitting at 2-1-0 at home this season, while going 0-6-0 way from the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.) — who scored two of SMU’s six second-period goals against Lawrence on Nov. 21 — leads the Cardinals in goals with five, two more than Colin Tushie (Prior Lake, Minn.), while Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau, Wis.) and Noah Kiemel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) have both netted two goals. … Blake Arneson (Red Wing, Minn.), Clay Allen (Anchorage, Alaska), Cooper Smyl (Fairfield, Calif.), Callahan Nauss (Maple Grove, Minn.), Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia), and Nick Kiemel (Colorado Springs, Colo.) have accounted for SMU’s other six 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 four players who have scored their first collegiate goals this season — Arneson, Allen, Smyl, and Noah Kiemel. … Saint Mary’s had six players who scored their first goals in a Cardinal uniform a year ago.

• SPREADING THE WEALTH: Saint Mary’s eight goals against Lawrence on Nov. 21 came from seven different players — with Winter the only Cardinal with more than one tally.

• MULTIPLE GOALS: Winter’s two goal game against Lawrence on Nov. 21 was the Cardinals’ first multiple-goal game of the season. … Winter has now scored two goals in a game four times in his four-year collegiate career.

• LENDING A HAND: Jack Campion (Crystal, Minn.) picked up a pair of assists in SMU’s 8-4 win over Lawrence on Nov. 21, and leads the team with four helpers, one more than Tushie and Connor Abric (Hayward, Wis.). Winter, Tharaldson, and Arneson are all sitting with two assists through nine games. … Tharaldson racked up a team-leading 12 assists last season.

• POINT PRODUCERS: With his three-point night against Lawrence on Nov. 21, Winter extended his team-leading points total to seven, one in front of Tushie, who also posted a three-point night against the Vikings. … Campion and Tharaldson are tied for third on the team with four points, followed by Abric, Arneson, Nauss, and Noah Kiemel with three each.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) has started seven of SMU’s nine games in goal, compiling a 3.53 goals-against-average and .894 save percentage. … A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) has made the other two starts between the pipes, boasting a 5.05 GAA and .866 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 177 saves in seven starts — including a season-high 37-save effort against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 10 — while Ruskowski (97 saves) kicked out a season-best 37 shots against Lake Forest on Oct. 27. … 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.

• SCORING FIRST: Saint Mary’s has scored first in four of its first nine games, going 2-2-0 when netting the game’s first goal. … SMU is now 16-7-0 when scoring first since the start of the 2021-22 season, while going 2-19-1 when their opponent nets the game’s first goal.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Thirteen of Saint Mary’s 18 goals have come at even strength. The Cardinals netted their first two power-play goals in their 4-2 loss to UW-Superior on Nov. 11 — and added three PP tallies vs. Lawrence on Nov. 21. … SMU has gone 5-for-45 with the man advantage through nine games (11.1 %). SMU’s opponents, meanwhile, have netted 11 of their 40 goals on the power play, going 11-for-37 with the man advantage (29.7 %). … SMU has scored four times in the first period, 10 times in the second — including six against Lawrence on Nov. 21 — and four times in the third. Seventeen of the 40 goals allowed by the Cardinals have come in the second period. SMU has also surrendered nine first-period goals and 14 in the game’s final stanza. … SMU’s eight goals against Lawrence were a season-high, and the most since beating St. Olaf 8-2 on Jan. 13, 2023.

GUSTAVUS SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Gusties head into their two-game weekend series against Saint Mary’s sitting at .500 (4-4-1) through nine games, while sporting a 1-3-0 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: Gustavus erupted for three third-period goals in the game’s final seven minutes, breaking a 2-2 tie and leading the Gusties to a 5-2 nonconference win over UW-Stout on Nov. 21 in St. Peter, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Don Roberts Ice Arena has been very kind to the Gusties this season, as GAC has collected all four of its wins on its home ice. Gustavus, which has played seven of its first nine contests in St. Peter, Minn., boasts a 4-2-1 mark at home, while still searching for its first road victory (0-2-0). 

• TURNING IT AROUND: After opening the season 2-0-1, the Gusties are just 2-4-0 in their last five — the two wins coming in back-to-back wins over Bethel (6-2) and UW-Stout (5-2) in their last two contests.

• LIGHTIN THE LAMP: The Gusties’ 26 goals through nine games have come from 10 different players, including four — Nate Stone, Jack Suchy, Connor Mahoney, and Jac Triemert — who share the team lead with four goals each. Grant Ellings has chipped in two goals, with Wilmer Svenson and Artem Korolve each lighting the lamp twice. … Triemert scored three of his four goals against Bethel on Nov. 18.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Kyler Fenton leads the Gusties with five assists, two more than Stone, Svenson, and Jack Kubitz, and three up on Suchy, Ellings, Kovolev, and Drew Holt. … Hunter Newhouse owns GAC’s only multiple-assist game this season, recording a pair of helpers against Bethel on Nov. 18.

• POINT PRODUCERS: With four goals and three assists, Stone sits atop the team’s points race with seven, followed by Suchy with six, and Fenton, Sevenson, and Ellings with five apiece. … Stone and Triemert have reach recorded season-high three-point games — Stone against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 3 and Triemert vs. Bethel on Nov. 18.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: GAC has used three different goals this week, with all three making at least one start. Marko Belak has compiled a 2.73 goals-against-average and .884 save percentage in five appearances (242:08 minutes), while Jackson Hjelle has also appeared in five games (238:36 minutes), posting a 3.02 GAA and .865 save %. Will Pinney has made one start (60:00), boasting a 2.00 GAA and .944 save %. … Belak leads the trio with 84 saves, followed by Hjelle with 77 and Pinney with 34. … Pinney stopped a single-game season-high 34 shots in GAC’s win over UW-Stout on Nov. 21. … Hjelle has been in goal for two of GAC’s four wins, with Belak and Pinney each owning one victory.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: Gustavus holds a 277-221 advantage in shots on goal through nine games. … GAC has outshot its opponents 98-74 in the first period, and a whopping 106-72 in the third, while being outshot 74-71 in the second. … GAC has scored half of its 26 goals in the third period, and has added eight first-period goals and five second-period tallies. … After scoring just four goals during its season-high four-game losing streak, the Gusties have rattled off a combined 11 goals during its current two-game winning streak. … Gustavus has scored a season-high six goals twice this season — beating UW-Stevens Point 6-4 and Bethel 6-2. GAC has netted at least three goals in each of its four wins. …. GAC’s eight assists and 13 points against UW-Stout on Nov. 21 were season highs, and the Gusties posted a season-bet 40 shots on goal against Bethel on Nov. 18.