SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 3-3-0 MIAC, 8-4-0 Overall

ST. OLAF OLES

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2023-24: 0-6-0 MIAC, 6-7-0 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Fri at STO: Live Stats * Streaming Video

Sat at SMU: Live Stats * Streaming Video

MIAC: WH Home *  Standings * Schedule

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SMU-STO * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 13-14, 2023

T, 2-2; L, 2-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 5, 2023

U. of Dubuque * W, 7-0

ST. OLAF * LAST ACTION:

Dec. 8-9, 2023

UW-Superior * W, 5-0; W, 4-3

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 19, 2024 * St. Paul, MN

St. Catherine * 7 p.m.

Jan. 20, 2024 * Winona, MN

St. Catherine * 2 p.m. 

ST. OLAF * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 19, 2024 * Northfield, MN

St. Scholastica * 6 p.m.

Jan. 20, 2024 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 6 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their two-game conference series against St. Olaf sitting at 8-4-0 overall, including a 3-3-0 showing through the first six games of the MIAC season.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals have been off since Dec. 5, when they got scoring from seven different players in cruising to a lopsided 7-0 nonconference win over the University of Dubuque in the teams’ first-ever meeting.

• STREAKING: The Cardinals had their three-game winning streak snapped with their 3-1 loss to #1 Gustavus on Dec. 1, while the added 3-0 loss the following day marked the first time this season SMU had dropped back-to-back games. … SMU’s 7-2-0 start to the season was its best nine-game start since going 7-1-1 in 1999-2000.

• FACING NATION’S BEST: The Cardinals have faced three nationally ranked teams this season, beating seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire 2-1 on Nov. 3, falling to #4 UW-River Falls on Nov. 4, and dropping a pair of games to No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Gustavus last weekend.

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Cardinals have played half of their 12 games this season on their home ice, going 4-2-0. SMU has beaten Lake Forest (7-0, 8-0), UW-Eau Claire (2-1), and Augsburg (3-2), while falling to Hamline (2-1 in OT) and Gustavus (3-1). Saint Mary’s is also 4-2-0 away from the SMU Ice Arena.

• CLOSE CALLS: Seven of the Cardinals’ 12 games have been decided by two goals or less — including one-goal decisions in three of those outings — a 2-1 OT loss to Hamline, and 3-2 and 2-1 wins over Augsburg.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: Three of Saint Mary’s eight wins have been by seven or more goals. SMU has posted 7-0 victories over both Lake Forest and the University of Dubuque, while beating the Foresters 8-0 in the second game of its season-opening sweep of Lake Forest.

• 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 on Oct. 28-29 were the most since SMU swept Bethel 11-0 and 8-3 on Jan. 4-5, 2002. … Saint Mary’s delivered a season-high 58 shots on goal in its 7-0 win over the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5. The 58 shots were just four shy of the 62 the Cardinals put on Lawrence a year ago. The program-record for shots on goal in a game sits at 80 against St. Olaf on Nov. 11, 2000.

• PUTTING UP LITTLE NUMBERS: Saint Mary’s matched a single-game program record, holding the University of Dubuque to just one shot on goal in the first period of its 7-0 win on Dec. 5. SMU first set the mark on Nov. 11, 2000, when the Cardinals held St. Olaf to one shot on goal in both the first and third periods. … UD finished with just six shots on goal on Dec. 5, the fewest allowed by the Cardinals since holding St. Olaf to five on No. 11, 2000.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.) heads into Tuesday’s nonconference game against Lawrence boasting a team-high 11 goals. The freshman — who sits No. 2 in NCAA Division III in goals scored and goals-per-game (1.1) — has netted a goal in eight of the team’s 12 games this season. … Sophia Paduano (Westby, Wis.) is sitting second to Heitzman with five goals, one more than Allie Urlaub, and two up on Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.) and Mikayla Vasilevich (Chicago, Ill.). … Heitzman’s 11 goals this season are the most since Anya Hafiz scored 13 goals during the 2019-20 season.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Saint Mary’s has already had seven players — Heitzman, Vasilevich, Paduano, Midtbo, Kenzie Meland (Zimmerman, Minn.), Maggie Albers (Maple Grove, Minn.), 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. … Saint Mary’s seven goals in its 7-0 win over the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5 were scored by seven different players, while SMU’s five goals in its 4-2 win and 2-1 loss to Hamline on Nov,. 10-11 also came from five different players.

• 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 surpassed that mark this season, collecting a pair of helpers against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5 to push her team-leading total to nine. Heitzman, who had her first collegiate three-assist game against the Spartans on Dec. 5, is second on the team with seven, followed by Meland (6), Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis. / 5), and Skye Norgren (Fergus Falls, Minn. / 4). … Saint Mary’s 44 assists have come from 18 different players.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Heitzman and Urlaub have both already reached double figures in points through 12 games, with Heitzman leading the charge with 18 points, five up on Urlaub. followed by Paduano with eight and Meland with seven … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in 10 of SMU’s 12 games this season. She had her season-high nine-game point streak snapped against #1 Gustavus on Dec. 1. 

• BIG NIGHTS: Heitzman delivered her first collegiate four-point game against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5, scoring once and assisting on three others. … Urlaub collected 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. … Heitzman has recorded two multiple-goal games — scoring three times against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 and adding a pair of goals against Augsburg on Nov. 17 — while Vasilevich tallied a two-goal game against Lake Forest on Oct. 28, and Paduano tallied the first multiple-goal game of her career with two tallies against UW-Stevens Point on Nov. 21.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES:Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) has started all 12 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.48 goals-against-average and a .942 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 has stopped 275 of the 292 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. … Riley Vander Esch (Sioux Falls, S.D.) stopped all four shots she faced in relief of Rimstad against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5, and boasts a 3.76 GAA and .778 save % in two appearances (31:53 minutes).

• 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 on Nov.3.

• 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 have posted back-to-back shutouts, having blanked Lawrence 3-0 and 8-0 on Dec. 9-10, 2022. … SMU added its third shutout of the season with its 7-0 win over the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5.

• 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 beating Marian (5-0), St. Norbert (2-1), and UW-Eau Claire (4-1) to kick off the 2010-11 campaign.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: SMU has outscored its first 12 opponents 41-19, and hold a 326-301 edge in shots on goal. … The Cardinals have scored 17 of their 41 goals in the second period, adding 13 tallies in the first and 11 in the third. … Saint Mary’s is 4-for-29 on the power play (13.8 %), while killing off 32 of its opponents 35 PP opportunities (91.4 %). … 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.

ST. OLAF SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Oles enter the second half of their season this weekend against Saint Mary’s sitting at 6-7-0 overall, but STO is still searching for its first conference win, going 0-6-0 in MIAC play thus far.

• LAST TIME OUT: St. Olaf has been off since Dec. 8-9, when the Oles closed out the 2023 portion of their schedule with a pair of wins over UW-Superior — beating the Yellowjackets 5-0 and 4-3.

• OUT OF THEIR LEAGUE: The Oles closed out the nonconference portion of their schedule with their sweep of UW-Superior on Dec. 8-9. STO finished 6-1-0 against non-MIAC opponents — the lone loss a 6-0 setback to No. 3 UW-River Falls on Nov. 21.

• STREAKING: The Oles have been on a rollercoaster ride this season. St. Olaf opened the season with four straight wins, before dropping seven in a row. St. Olaf regrouped with back-to-back wins over UW-Superior in its last two games.

• THREE’S COMPANY: St. Olaf has picked up three of its six wins on their home sheet. STO is 3-3-0 at home, while going 3-4-0 away from the St. Olaf Ice Arena.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Molly Terebayza has amassed a team-leading nine goals through 13 games, with Julia Larson sitting second on the team with six tallies. Solvei Berg-Messerole is third with five goals, followed by Rachel Wieland with three, and MaKenna Beaver, Kate Carfegnini, and Iona Welsch with two each. … Larson owns the single-game season-high with her three-goal performance against UW-Superior on Dec. 9. 

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Berg-Messerole heads into St. Olaf’s two-game series with Saint Mary’s owning a team-high 10 assists, two up on Andi Huselid and three better than Grace Lankas. Terebayza and Beaver each have chipped in four helpers, with Sophie McBane and Hannah Metric adding three apiece. … Beaver, Berg-Messerole, and Huselid have all posted three-assist games this season.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Berg-Messerole and Terebayza have each reached double figures in points this season, with Berg-Messerole sitting atop the points race with 15, followed by Terebayza at 13. Huselid is one point away from hitting double digits and Lankas is two shy. … St. Olaf boasts four players — Larson, Berg-Messerole, Huselid, and Beaver — who have recorded three points in a game this season. 

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: St. Olaf has had three different goalies start in goal this season, led by Hannah Fritz, who has compiled a 2.08 goals-against-average and .909 save percentage in eight starts. Carley Tuman has started four games, owning a 3.14 GAA and .896 save %, with Devon Cole (8.17 GAA, .846 save %) making the other start. … Fritz has recorded a team-leading 179 saves — including a season-high 31-save effort against UW-Stevens Point on Oct. 27. Tuman has also eclipsed the century mark in saves with 103, and owns the team’s single-game season-high with 40 stops against Augsburg on Dec. 1.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: St. Olaf has scored 32 games in its first 13 games, while allowing 35 goals. STO has been outscored 12-8 in the first period and 13-11 in the second, but holds a 13-10 edge in the game’s final 20-minute period. … Eight of St. Olaf’s 32 goals have come on the power play. STO is 8-for- 50 (16.0 %) with the man advantage, while the Oles’ opponents have netted seven goals on 34 PP opportunities (20.6 %). … St. Olaf has scored a season-high five goals twice this season — beating Northland 5-1 on Nov. 3 and topping UW-Superior 5-0 on Dec. 8 — while also posting season-highs in assists (10) and points (15) against the Yellowjackets on Dec. 8. … STO recorded a season-best 50 shots on goal in its win over Northland on Nov. 4. … St. Olaf surrendered a season-high seven goals in a 7-4 to Hamline on Nov. 17. … The Oles have been held to one goal or less in five of their seven losses.