#13 SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 7-3-0 MIAC, 13-4-0 Overall

BETHEL ROYALS

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2023-24: 4-5-1 MIAC, 10-6-1 Overall

LIVE ON THE WEB:

Fri. at BU: Live Stats * Streaming Video

Sat at SMU: Live Stats * Streaming Video

MIAC: WH Home *  Standings * Schedule

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SMU-BU * LAST MEETING:

Jan. 27-28, 2023

L, 2-0; W, 2-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 22-20, 2024 * Winona, MN

Lawrence * W, 4-1

BETHEL * LAST ACTION:

Jan. 23, 2024 * Blaine, MN

St. Catherine * W, 1-0

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb.2-3, 2024 * Winona, MN

Saint Benedict * 7 p.m./2 p.m.

BETHEL * UP NEXT: 

Feb. 2, 2024 * Duluth, MN

St. Scholastica * 7 p.m.

Feb. 3, 2024 * Blaine, MN

St. Scholastica * 6 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their conference series against Bethel this weekend sitting at 13-4-0 overall, including a 7-3-0 showing through the first eight games of the MIAC season.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals rattled off four unanswered goals — and outshot finished with a 62-9 advantage in shots on goal — as SMU cruised to a 4-1 nonconference win over Lawrence o Tuesday at the SMU Ice Arena.

• STREAKING: With their back-to-back wins over St. Catherine last weekend and Tuesday’s 4-1 victory over Lawrence, Saint Mary’s heads into its conference series against Bethel this weekend riding a season-high six-game winning streak. … SMU’s six-game winning streak is its longest since winning eight in a row during the 2003-04 season. … Saint Mary’s 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: The Cardinals, who made their first-ever appearance in the USCHO.com Poll, coming in at No. 15 on Jan. 15, jumped up two spots this week and 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 nine of their 17 games this season on their home ice, going 7-2-0. SMU has beaten Lake Forest (7-0, 8-0), UW-Eau Claire (2-1), Augsburg (3-2), St. Olaf (5-2), St. Catherine (3-1), and Lawrence (4-1), 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 4-1 win over Lawrence on Tuesday was its 13th 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 15-9-3.

• CLOSE CALLS: Eight of the Cardinals’ 17 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 13 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 62 shots on goal in its 4-1 win Lawrence on Tuesday. It was the second time in two years SMU has put up 62 SOGs vs. the Vikings. 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 weekend series against Bethel boasting a team-high 13 goals. The freshman has netted a goal in 10 of the team’s 17 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.) is sitting second to Heitzman with 10 goals, while Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third with six goals — thanks to goals in both SMU games vs. St. Catherine last weekend. … With her goal against Lawrence on Tuesday, Paduano has now scored a goal in six straight games.

• FIRST AS A CARDINAL: Saint Mary’s has already had eight players — Heitzman, Vasilevich, Paduano, Midtbo, Ella Ausman (Chippewa Falls, Wis.), 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 Paduano, Midtbo and Meland for second with eight each. Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta) — who collected a career-high three assists with helpers on three of SMU’s four goals against Lawrence on Tuesday — and Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.) each have six assists, with Sherner one back with five. … Saint Mary’s 81 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. Paduano is sitting second in the points race with 18, followed by Urlaub with 17, Midtbo with 14, and Meland with 10. … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in 12 of SMU’s 17 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 17 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.40 goals-against-average and a .938 save percentage. … Rimstad stopped all 18 shots she faced in SMU’s 4-0 win over St. Catherine on Jan. 19 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 348 of the 371 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.

• TOTAL DOMINATION: In its three games against Lawrence over the past two seasons, Saint Mary’s has outshot LU 183-37, and have outscored the Vikings 15-1 … SMU held a 28-1 first-period edge in SOG in their first meeting on Dec. 9, 2022, while boasting a 26-5 edge in shots in the second period the following evening. On Tuesday, SMU outshot LU 24-3 in the first, 21-4 in the second, and 17-2 in the third.

• 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 17 opponents 62-25, and hold a 533-380 advantage in shots on goal. … The Cardinals have scored 26 of their 62 goals in the second period, adding 17 tallies in the first and 19 in the third. … Saint Mary’s is 10-for-46 on the power play (21.7 %), while killing off 41 of its opponents 46 PP opportunities (89.1 %). … 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, while their 62 shots on goal against Lawrence on Tuesday were also a season high.

BETHEL SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Royals head into this weekend’s two-game MIAC series against Saint Mary’s owning a 10-6-1 overall record, including a 4-5-1 mark through the first 10 games of the conference slate.

• LAST TIME OUT: Bethel stepped out of conference play for a rare nonconference game against a conference foe, getting a power-play goal from Lindsey Muntifering midway through the third period to beat St. Catherine 1-0 Tuesday in Blaine, Minn.

• HOME SWEET HOME: Friday’s game against Saint Mary’s is the fourth straight home game for the Royals, who boast a 6-3-1 mark on their home ice, while going 4-3-0 in their seven games away from Bethel Arena.

• COMING IN HOT: The Royals head into the weekend having won back-to-back games — beating Concordia (5-2) and St. Catherine (1-0). BU is also 7-3-1 in its last 11 contests. … Bethel has put together winning streaks of three and four games, and have lost back-to-back games just twice through 17 contests.

• CLOSE CALLS: Thirteen of Bethel’s 17 games this season have been decided by two goals or less — including eight of BU’s 10 wins and four of the Royals’ six losses. … Bethel has picked up four wins that were all decided by 3-2 decisions. 

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: With her game-winning goal against St. Catherine on Tuesday, Muntifering pushed her team-leading goal total to six, two more than Kallie Abrahamson, Abbie DeLong, Brynn Swenson, and Beth Velasco. Lindsey Albers has chipped in three goals, with Reagan Aus, Alison Hoerer, and Emily Wiltse each scoring twice. … BU has had two players score two goals in a game this season. Muntifering netted two against Northland on Dec. 5, while Abrahamson has posted two, two-goal games — against Aurora on Oct. 28 and vs. Concordia on Jan. 20.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Muntifering has collected a team-leading eight assists, while Abrahamson, Sydney Eckert, Malia McKinnon, and Bella Webb are tied for second with five assists each. DeLong, Albers, and Megan Johnson own three helpers each, and 10 other Royals have recorded at least one assist. … Muntifering owns a pair of two-assist games — vs. Northland on Dec. 5 and vs. Concordia on Jan. 19 — with Webb recording two helpers against Concordia on Jan. 20. 

• POINT PRODUCERS: With her six goals and eight assists, Muntifering sits atop the Bethel points race with 14. She is the only BU player to have reached double digits, with Abrahamson second with nine and DeLong third with eight. Albers and Swenson are both sitting with seven points, followed by Eckert, McKinnon, Webb, and Velasco all owning six points. … Muntifering recorded two goals and two assists for a single-game, season-high four points.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Anna Hanson has played in 16 of the team’s 17 games, including 14 starts, compiling 1.96 goals-against-average and .937 save percentage. Ashley Hess (2.57 GAA, .905 save %, 140:00 minutes) and Lexi Holman (0.00 GAA, 1.000 save %, 59:57 minutes) have also seen time between the pipes this season. … Henson has amassed 403 saves with six games of 30 or more saves — including a season-high 50-save effort against Aurora on Oct. 27. … Henson owns two shutouts this season, blanking Saint Benedict on 25 saves on Dec. 1 and adding a 22-save effort in shutting out Marian a week later.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: The Royals have outscored their opponents by two goals, 35-33, through the first 17 games of the season. … BU has scored 11 goals on 50 power play opportunities (22.0 %), while killing off 42 of its opponents’ 50 man-advantage chances (84.0 %). … BU put together season highs in goals (5), assists (9), and points (14) against Northland on Dec. 5, while racking up a season-best 47 shots on goal against Marian on Dec. 8. … Bethel has allowed more than three goals just twice all season, surrendering four goals and seven goals in back-to-back losses to Gustavus (4-0 & 7-0) on Nov. 17-18. … BU has played three overtime games this season, going 0-2-1 — falling to Augsburg (2-1) and Concordia (3-2), and tying Saint Benedict (0-0).