#13 SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 12-4-0 Overall

LAWRENCE VIKINGS

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2023-24: 3-14-1 Overall

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SMU-LAWRENCE * A YEAR AGO:

Dec. 9-10, 2022

W, 3-0; W, 8-0 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 19-20, 2024

St. Kate’s * W, 4-0 * W, 3-1

LAWRENCE * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 19029, 2024

U. of Dubuque * W, 1-0; W, 4-2 

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Jan. 26, 2024 * Blaine, MN

Bethel * 7 p.m.

Jan. 27, 2024 * Winona, MN

Bethel * 2 p.m.

LAWRENCE * UP NEXT: 

Jan. 26, 2024 * De Pere, WI

St. Norbert * 7 p.m.

Jan. 27, 2024 * Appleton, WI

St. Norbert * 7:30 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their final nonconference game against Lawrence sitting at 12-4-0 overall, including a 7-3-0 showing through the first eight games of the MIAC season.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals picked up back-to-back wins over St. Catherine last weekend — getting an 18-save shutout from Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) in a 4-0 victory last Friday in St. Paul, Minn., before scoring three unanswered goals in a 3-1 sweep-clinching victory the following afternoon at the SMU Ice Arena.

• STREAKING: With their back-to-back wins over St. Catherine last weekend, Saint Mary’s heads into its nonconference game against Lawrence riding a season-high five winning streak. … SMU has also put together three, three-game winning streaks this season. … The Cardinals had three-game winning streak No. 2 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.

• IN THE POLLS: Fueled by their current five-game winning streak — including last weekend’s sweep of Catherine — the Cardinals, who made their first-ever appearance in the USCHO.com Poll, coming in at No. 15 on Jan. 15, are currently sitting at No. 13. SMU is the second MIAC team in the Top 15, being joined by defending national champion and second-ranked Gustavus.

• FACING NATION’S BEST: The Cardinals have faced three nationally ranked teams this season, beating then-seventh-ranked UW-Eau Claire (now #11) 2-1 on Nov. 3, falling to then-#4 UW-River Falls (now ranked #1) on Nov. 4, and dropping a pair of games to then-No. 1-ranked and defending national champion Gustavus (now ranked #2) on Dec. 1-2.

• HOME SWEET HOME: The Cardinals have played half of their 16 games this season on their home ice, going 6-2-0. SMU has beaten Lake Forest (7-0, 8-0), UW-Eau Claire (2-1), Augsburg (3-2), St. Olaf (5-2), and St. Catherine (3-1), while falling to Hamline (2-1 in OT) and Gustavus (3-1). Saint Mary’s is also 6-2-0 away from the SMU Ice Arena this season.

• RACKING UP WINS: Saint Mary’s 5-2 win over St. Olaf last Saturday was its 10th win of the season, the most since going 13-10-2 during the 2021-22 season. The last time SMU won more than 13 games came in 2003-04, when SMU finished 14-10-2.

• CLOSE CALLS: Eight of the Cardinals’ 16 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 SMU’s weekday game against Lawrence boasting a team-high 13 goals. The freshman has netted a goal in 10 of the team’s 16 games this season. Her 13 goals this season are the most since Anya Hafiz scored 13 during the 2019-20 season. … Sophia Paduano (Westby, Wis.) — who scored a goal in both games against St. Catherine last weekend — is sitting second to Heitzman with nine goals, while Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third with six goals, thanks to goals in both SMU games vs. the Wildcats last weekend.

• 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 amassed a team-leading 12 helpers this season. Heitzman, who had her first collegiate three-assist game against the University of Dubuque on Dec. 5, is tied with Midtbo and Meland for second with eight each. Paduano has chipped in seven assist, followed by Sherner and Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.) with five each. … Saint Mary’s 76 assists have come from 19 different players.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Saint Mary’s boasts five players who have already reached double figures in points, led by Heitzman with 21. Urlaub is sitting second in the points race with 17, followed by Paduano with 16, Midtbo with 14, and Meland with 10. … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in 12 of SMU’s 16 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 16 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.42 goals-against-average and a .939 save percentage. … Rimstad stopped all 18 shots she faced in last Friday’s 4-0 win over St. Catherine and has now recorded three shutouts this season … 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 340 of the 362 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 and recorded shutout No. 4 with last Friday’s 4-0 win over St. Catherine.

• 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.

• LONGER TIME COMING: With their 4-0, 3-1 sweep of St. Catherine, the Cardinals picked up their first conference sweep of the Wildcats since the 2006-2007 season, when SMU won 3-1 and 3-0.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: SMU has outscored its first 16 opponents 58-24, and hold a 471-371 edge in shots on goal. … The Cardinals have scored 24 of their 58 goals in the second period, adding 16 tallies in the first and 18 in the third. … Saint Mary’s is 10-for-46 on the power play (21.7 %), while killing off 40 of its opponents 45 PP opportunities (88.9 %). … All three of SMU’s goals in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over St. Catherine came on the power play. …  The Cardinals set season-bests for goals (8), assists (13), and points (21) in their 8-0 win over the Foresters on Oct. 28.

LAWRENCE SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Vikings enter their nonconference game against Saint Mary’s sitting at 3-14-1 overall, including a 2-8-0 showing through the first 10 games of the NCHA slate.

• LAST TIME OUT: Lawrence put together its first two-game winning streak of the season, taking a pair of games from the University of Dubuque. The Vikings blanked the Spartans 1-0 last Friday, before completing the sweep with a 4-2 win the following day.

• ROAD WARRIORS: Tuesday’s nonconference game at Saint Mary’s is the first of back-to-back road games for the Vikings, who will play at St. Norbert on Friday before playing three straight at home — Saturday’s rematch with the Green Knights and a pair of NCHA games against Trine on Feb. 2-3. … Lawrence has picked up all three of its wins this season on their home ice, going 3-4-1, while still searching for their first win away from the Champion Center (0-10-0).

• STREAKING: Lawrence’s 1-0 win over the University of Dubuque last Saturday put an end to its season-high eight-game losing streak. … After dropping its first six contests, LU battled Marian to a 1-1 tie on Nov. 21 and followed that up with its first win of the year — a 3-1 victory over Northland four days later, before dropping its next eight.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Sofia Alvarez heads into Lawrence’s mid-week showdown against Saint Mary’s leading the team with five goals, while Delaney Kingsland, Lauren Askenazy, and Laney Martens are tied for second with four goals each. The quartet have accounted for 17 of the Vikings’ 23 goals this season. … Kingsland owns LU’s only multiple-goal game, scoring three times against Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 18.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Kingsland has amassed a team-leading six assists, one more than Askenazy. Alvarez and Evelyn Pryadkin have each posted three helpers, with Valeria Ansoleaga, Beth McArthur, and Sophia Labrecque all sitting with two assists. … Kingsland and Askenazy have both recorded two-assist games this season — Askenazy vs. Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 18 and Kingsland vs. Concordia (Wis.) on Dec. 9.

• POINT PRODUCERS: With her four goals and six assists, Kingsland sits atop the Vikings’ points race with 10, one more than Askenazy and two up on Alvarez. … Kingsland posted a single-game season-best three points against Concordia (Wis.) on Nov. 18.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Sydney Seeley and Sarah Dobrzynski have shared the goaltending duties, with both making nine starts. Seeley owns a 4.00 goals-against-average and .904 save percentage, with Dobrzynski boasting a 3.95 GAA and .902 save %. … Dobrzynski leads the team with 255 saves in her seven starts, just 27 more than Seeley. … Seeley has stopped 40 or more shots three times this season, including a season-high 63-save effort against Aurora on Nov. 11. Dobrzynski, meanwhile, made a season-best 54 saves against Aurora the previous evening.

… Seeley has been in goal for two of LU’s three wins, while Dobrzynski owns the Vikings’ lone shutout, kicking out all 29 shots against the University of Dubuque last Friday.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Vikings have managed just 23 goals in its first 18 games — and have been held to two goals or less in 14 of those 18 contests. … LU has converted on just three of 59 power-play opportunities (5.1 %), while the Vikings’ opponents have netted 17 PP goals on 72 chances (23.6 %). … LU netted a season-high four goals in last Saturday’s 4-2 win over the University of Dubuque. The Vikings also own three, three-goal games. … Along with their season-high four goals, the Vikings also collected season-highs in assists (7) and points (11). LU posted a season-high 37 shots on goal against Marian on Nov. 21. … LU allowed a season-high nine goals, 16 assists, and 25 points in a 9-0 loss to St. Norbert on Nov. 29.