SAINT MARY’S CARDINALS

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2023-24: 10-4-0 MIAC, 16-5-0 Overall

ST. SCHOLASTICA SAINTS

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2023-24: 6-7-1 MIAC, 7-13-1 Overall

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SMU-CSS * LAST MEETING:

Feb. 10-22, 2023

L, 2-1; W, 5-1 * Series History

SAINT MARY’S * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 2-3, 2024

Saint Benedict * W, 5-1; L, 2-1

ST. SCHOLASTICA * LAST ACTION:

Feb. 2-3, 2024

Bethel * L, 2-1 (ot); L, 4-1

SAINT MARY’S * UP NEXT:

Feb.16-17, 2024 * Winona, MN

Concordia * 7 p.m./2 p.m.

ST. SCHOLASTICA * UP NEXT: 

Feb. 16, 2024 * Minneapolis, MN

Augsburg * 7 p.m.

Feb. 17, 2024 * Duluth, MN

Augsburg * 6 p.m.

SAINT MARY’S SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR RECORD: The Cardinals head into their final regular-season road conference series at St. Scholastica this weekend sitting at 16-5-0 overall, including a 10-4-0 showing through the first eight games of the MIAC season.

• LAST ACTION: The Cardinals settled for a split in their MIAC series against Saint Benedict last weekend at the Saint Mary’s Ice Arena. SMU opened with a 5-1 win on Friday, but dropped the rematch 2-1 the following afternoon.

• PLAYOFF PICTURE: Saint Mary’s heads into the weekend sitting tied for third with Augsburg with 30 points back of second-place Hamline, and nine points up on Bethel and 10 ahead of St. Scholastica. SMU needs one win — regulation or overtime — or a Bethel loss to lock up an MIAC Playoff berth. … The Cardinals have made 13 MIAC Playoff appearances — 1999-00, 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2021-22 — and own a pair of MIAC Playoff titles (1998-99, 1999-00). 

• STREAK-SNAPPER: With their 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict last Saturday, the Cardinals had their season-high nine-game winning streak snapped. The nine-game run was SMU’s longest since 2001-02, when the Cardinal won 10 in a row. … 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.

• 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 12 of their 21 games this season on their home ice, going 9-2-0. 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), Lawrence (4-1), Bethel (4-3), and Saint Benedict (5-1), while falling to Hamline (2-1 in OT) and Gustavus (3-1). Saint Mary’s is 7-2-0 away from the SMU Ice Arena this season.

• RACKING UP WINS: Saint Mary’s 5-1 win over Saint Benedict last Friday was its 16th of the season, the most wins in a season since the 2001-02 season, when Saint Mary’s finished the year 21-6-1. … SMU’s 10 conference wins, meanwhile, are the most since the 2003-04 season, when the Cardinals finished MIAC play 10-8-0.

• CLOSE CALLS: Eleven of the Cardinals’ 21 games have been decided by two goals or less, including one-goal decisions in five of those outings — a 4-3 victory over Bethel, a 2-1 OT loss to Hamline, 3-2 and 2-1 wins over Augsburg, and a 2-1 loss to Saint Benedict.

• NOT-SO-CLOSE CALLS: Three of Saint Mary’s 15 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 Jan. 23. 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 St. Scholastica boasting a team-high 14 goals. The freshman has netted a goal in 11 of the team’s 21 games this season. Her 14 goals are the most since Melissa Mondo netted 15 in 2006-07. … Sophia Paduano (Westby, Wis.) is sitting second to Heitzman with 12 goals, while Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.) is third with 11. … Paduano had her goal-scoring streak snapped at six in SMU’s 2-0 win over Bethel on Jan. 26. The freshman found the back of the net in the Jan. 27 rematch with the Royals and in last Friday’s win over Saint Benedict, and has now scored in eight of the team’s last 10 games. 

• DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORERS: With Heitzman (14), Paduano (12), and Midtbo (11) have scored 10+ goals, it marks the first time SMU has had three players reach double figures in goals since the 2001-02 season — when Emily Kearns (32), Christy Hicks (15), and Jaimie Mussehl (13) achieved the feat. 

• 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: Saint Mary’s has had two players record their first collegiate hat trick this season. Heitzman scored three goals against Lake Forest on Oct. 28, while Midtbo found the back of the net three times against Saint Benedict last Friday. … SMU has had a player record a hat trick in each of the last two seasons. 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 15 helpers this season. Paduano is second on the team with 11 helpers, followed by Midtbo with nine, and Heitzman, Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta), and Meland with eight each. … Kingston recorded a career-high three assists in the Cardinals’ 4-1 win over Lawrence on Jan. 23. … Saint Mary’s 98 assists have come from 20 different players.

• POINT PRODUCERS: Saint Mary’s boasts seven players who have already reached double figures in points, led by Paduano with 23. Heitzman is sitting second in the points race with 22, followed by Urlaub (21), Midtbo (20), Kingston (12), Meland (10), and Sherner (10). … Heitzman has recorded at least one point in 13 of SMU’s 21 games this season. She had her season-high nine-game point streak snapped against #1 Gustavus on Dec. 1. … Paduano, meanwhile, has recorded at least one point in 12 games.

• 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. … Midtbo recorded her first collegiate two-goal and three-point game against Bethel last Saturday. … 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 Midtbo owns a two-goal game against Bethel on Jan. 27 and a three-goal game against Saint Benedict last Friday. … Vasilevich tallied a two-goal game against Lake Forest on Oct. 28 and Paduano delivered 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 21 games in goal for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.42 goals-against-average and a .936 save percentage. … Rimstad stopped all 20 shots she faced in SMU’s 2-0 win over Bethel on Jan. 26 and has now recorded four 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 five shutouts through her first two seasons as a Cardinal. … Rimstad has stopped 426 of the 455 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 then-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. SMU outshot LU 24-3 in the first, 21-4 in the second, and 17-2 in the third in their Jan. 23 meeting this season.

• LONG TIME COMING: With their 2-1 win over then-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.

• PUTTING IN SOME OT: The Cardinals have played two overtime games this season, falling to Hamline 2-1 on Nov. 11, while beating Bethel 4-3 on Jan. 27.

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: SMU has outscored its first 21 opponents 74-31, and hold a 700-464 advantage in shots on goal. … The Cardinals have scored 28 of their 74 goals in the second period, adding 23 tallies in the first and 22 in the third. … Saint Mary’s is 16-for-64 on the power play (25.0 %), while killing off 52 of its opponents 59 PP opportunities (89.1 %). … SMU has scored a season-high three power-play goals in a game twice — vs. St. Catherine on Jan. 20 and against Saint Benedict last Friday. … 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 Jan. 23 were also a season high.

ST. SCHOLASTICA SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Saints head into their two-game home series against Saint Mary’s sitting at 7-13-1 overall, including sporting a 6-7-1 mark in conference play.

• LAST TIME OUT: The Saints’ bid for an MIAC Playoff berth took a serious hit last weekend, as CSS dropped both games to Bethel – falling to the Royals 2-1 in overtime last Friday, before dropping a 4-0 decision to BU in the rematch on Saturday.

• HOME SWEET HOME: St. Scholastica’s two games against Saint Mary’s are the second and third home games in a four-game stretch, having played a home-and-home series against Bethel last weekend. CSS will close out its regular-season schedule at Augsburg next Friday and home vs the Auggies the following day. … The Saints are currently 5-4-1 on their home ice, while owning a 2-7-1 record away from Mars Lakeview Arena.

• LIMPING IN: St. Scholastica heads into its two-game series against Saint Mary’s in the midst of a four-game losing streak. CSS has dropped back-to-back conference series to Hamline (3-2, 6-1) and Bethel (2-1, 4-0).

• PUTTING UP ZEROS: St. Scholastica has been shutout four times this season, falling to 

• CLOSE CALLS: The first game of each of the Saints’ last five conference series have been decided by one goal, with CSS going 3-2-0 in those five contests. The second game of those five series, however, have all been decided by at least two goals.

• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Abby Pohlkamp has been the Saints’ goal-scoring leader this season, lighting the lamp 13 times in CSS’s 21 games, while Allie Bussey is second on the team with eight goals, four more than Lisa LaRoche. Lauryn Hull and Lyndi Schubert have each scored three times, with Hanley Block adding a pair of goals. … Pohlkamp has scored at least one goal in nine games this season — including a two-goal effort against St. Catherine (Dec. 2), while netting five goals in CSS’s series against Concordia, scoring twice on Jan. 3, and three times the previous evening. … Pohlkamp has accounted for three of CSS’s seven game-winning goals.

• LENDING A HELPING HAND: LaRoche is the only Saint to reach double figures in assists, sitting atop the team lead with 11 helpers, two in front of Bussey. Hull has collected six assists to claim third on the team, followed by Schubert with five, and Taylor Leonard and Sara Parent with three each. … CSS has had a player record two assists in a game seven times — including three times by Bussey and twice by LaRoche.

• POINT PRODUCERS: St. Scholastica boasts three players with 10 or more points through 21 games, led by Bussey with 17. LaRoche and Pohlkamp are tied for second with 15, while Hull is one point shy of double figures, sitting with nine points.

• BETWEEN THE PIPES: The Saints have used three different goalies through 21 games, led by Makenzie Cole, who has appeared in 14 games (730:32), compiling a 2.87 goals-against-average and a .925 save percentage. Ashlea Arvidson (8 PG, 418:32) owns a 4.30 GAA and .883 save %, while Kieley Curow (3 GP, 112:27) sports a 5.34 GAA and .859 save %. … Cole has recorded 430 saves, followed by Arvidson with 226 and Curow with 61. … Arvidson and Cole have each posted a season-high 45 saves in a game this season — Arvidson against UW-River Falls on Oct. 27 and Cole vs. Gustavus on Nov. 11.

Cole has been in goal for four of CSS’s seven wins, with Arvidson collecting the other three wins. 

• CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS: St. Scholastica has been outscored 75-38, including 19-7 in the first period, 20-12 in the second, and 35-19 in the third. … CSS has scored just six goals on 57 power-play opportunities (10.5 %), while the Saints’ opponents have converted 15 of 68 PP chances (22.1 %). … St. Scholastica set season-highs for goals (5), assists (10), and points (15) in its 5-3 win over UW-Superior on Dec. 12. On the flip side, St. Scholastica has allowed six or more goals in a game seven times — including a season-high eight in back-to-back 8-1 losses to UW-River Falls and UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 27 and No. 4. … The Saints posted a season-high 37 shots on goal against Saint Benedict on Nov. 18. … CSS has played three overtime games this season, beating Concordia (4-3), falling to Bethel (2-1), and tying Saint Benedict (1-1).