MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey team, coming off a split in their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series with Bethel last weekend, is back in conference play this weekend, taking on St. Thomas in a two-game, home-and-home series beginning Friday evening in Mendota Heights, Minn. Game time is 7 p.m.
The Records:
Saint Mary’s Cardinals (5-2-1 MIAC / 8-6-1 Overall)
St. Thomas Tommies (6-1-1 MIAC, 7-5-2 Overall)
Last Action: The Cardinals scored once in the second period and twice more in the third in handing Bethel a
3-1 conference setback in the second game of their two-game series Saturday at the Schwan’s Super Rink in Blaine, Minn. Bethel had won the opener, scoring single goals in both the first and second periods in handing the Cardinals a
2-1 conference setback at the SMU Ice Arena Friday evening. St. Thomas, meanwhile, improved to 6-1-1 in MIAC play last weekend, sweeping Hamline
6-2 and
5-0.
Last Meeting — February 6-7, 2009: UST got the better of SMU a year ago, sweeping the Cardinals in their two-game conference series.
Madeline Lenz (White Bear Lake, Minn.) stopped 23 shots, but it was not enough, as St. Thomas scored five times — including three in the third period — to beat SMU
5-0 in Game 1 in Mendota Heights, Minn. The Tommies then completed the sweep a day later, getting a goal from Jackie Carroll six minutes into the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lift St. Thomas to a
2-1 victory at the SMU Ice Arena.
Saint Mary’s Cardinal Notes: Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bethel snapped the Cardinals’ two-game losing streak. It was the first time all season SMU had lost back-to-back games. … SMU’s 2-1 loss to Bethel last Friday was its ninth one-goal game of the season. The Cardinals have gone 3-5-1 in those nine games. … With their win Saturday, SMU improved to 8-3-1 in its last 12 games. …
Katie Cachey (Orland Park, Ill.) had a part in all three SMU goals in last Saturday’s 3-1 win over Bethel — assisting on the first two goals, then scoring a goal of her own in the third period. …
Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) scored SMU’s lone goal against the Royals last Friday evening. The goal was her team-leading 10th of the season. …
Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.), who had a goal and an assist vs. Bethel last Saturday, enters today’s contest vs. St. Thomas with a team-best eight assists. … SMU boasts three players with 10 or more points — Olson (14), Fiek (12) and Cachey (10). …
Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) finished 55 saves against the Royals last weekend — including 36 in Friday’s 3-1 win. … Collier has now stopped 36 or more shots three times in her collegiate career — also kicking out a career-best 39 saves vs. Lake Forest on Nov. 1 and stopped 38 Gustavus shots on Jan. 16. … Collier, who has notched three shutouts this season, enters tonight’s contest against St. Thomas boasting a 1.53 goals-against-average and a .941 save percentage. … SMU’s six goals vs. Marian on Jan. 9 equaled its season high and are the most in a game since the Cardinals beat Hamline 8-0 on Feb. 25, 2004. … The Cardinals have outscored their opponents 14-6 in the first period and 13-9 in the second, but have been outscored 12-10 in the game’s final 20 minutes. … The Cardinals have scored first in 11 of their 15 games, going 8-2-1 in those 11 games. On the flip side, SMU is winless when its opponent scores first (0-4-0).
St. Thomas Tommie Notes: Saturday’s win over Hamline was the Tommies’ third shutout win of the season. UST also blanked Saint Benedict (5-0) and Augsburg (6-0). … St. Thomas has played three overtime games this season, going 0-1-2. The Tommies tied UW-Eau Claire (3-3) and Gustavus (2-2), while losing to UW-River Falls (2-1). … St. Thomas has outscored its last four opponents by a combined 18-4. … UST’s five goals vs. Hamline last Saturday came from five different players. … Lindsey Wilson stopped all 18 shots she faced vs. Hamline Saturday en route to her second shutout in as many starts this season. … Kara Ledel and Korrine O’Conner share the team lead in all three offensive categories with five goals, seven assists and 12 points. The duo are two of four UST players with 10 or more points — Taylor Schluter (10 points) and Kristine Beese (10 points) are the other two. … UST has used three different goalies this season, with the trio combining for a 1.83 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage. … UST has outscored its opponents 14-9 in both the first and second periods and holds a 16-7 scoring edge in the game’s final 20 minutes. … St. Thomas has scored first in nine of its 14 games, going 6-2-1. UST is 1-3-1 when its opponent scores first.