ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team continues its quest for an MIAC title Friday, traveling to Gustavus for a 7 p.m. showdown with the league-leading Gusties.




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (8-3-3 MIAC / 12-7-3 Overall)
Gustavus Gusties (10-2-2 MIAC / 15-3-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals settled for a split in its two-game conference series against Saint Benedict last weekend. SMU dropped a 4-1 decision to the Blazers on Friday, then bounced back with a 4-1 win on Saturday. Both games were played at the SMU Ice Arena. … Gustavus, meanwhile, stepped out of conference play on Tuesday, getting two goals from Amanda Cartony in a 5-1 win over UW-Stevens Point at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St., Peter, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 16, 2010: SMU held the Gusties to a season-low one goal — a first-period tally by Tam Meuwissen. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that one goal was the game's only goa, as Gustavus escaped with a 1-0 nonconference victory at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.

February 19, 2010: Gustavus held off SMU's third-period charge for the 3-2 MIAC victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

February 20, 2010: The Cardinals' third one-goal game against the Gusties ended the same way as the previous two — with a loss — as Tam Meuwissen scored the game's only goal four minutes into the first period in lifting Gustavus to a 1-0 MIAC victory at the Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals and Gusties are back on the ice for the second game of their two-game conference series on Saturday, as SMU hosts GAC in a 2 p.m. game at the SMU Ice Arena.

Playoff Picture:
With four games remaining in the regular season, Gustavus (10-2-2) and St. Thomas have locked up playoff berths, while Saint Mary's (8-3-3) is in third — three points behind the Gusties and two points back of St. Thomas. … Bethel (7-5-2) and St. Olaf (7-5-2) are tied for the fourth and fifth spots with 12 points each, while Saint Benedict (5-6-2) is still holding out hope with nine points.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With their 4-1 win over Saint Benedict on Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 4-1 in its last five games. … Friday's 4-1 loss to the Blazers last Friday, meanwhile, dropped SMU to 1-3-3 in its seven Friday conference games. … Stevie Fiek (Rochester, Minn.) collected a pair of goals in Saturday's win over CSB, while Sheree Haslemore (Gore, New Zealand) and Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Island, Mich.) also found the back of the net. … Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) accounted for SMU's lone goal in last Friday's loss to Saint Benedict. … Coolsaet's goal Saturday was her team-leading 10th of the season. … Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) leads the team in assists (12) and points (20). … Olson picked up a pair of assists in Saturday's win over CSB — it was the second time this season the Cardinal junior has had a two-assist game. … SMU boasts four players — Olson (20), Stenseth (15), Coolsaet (14) and Fiek (11) — with 10 or more points. … Stenseth leads the team with three game-winning goals — including the OT game-winner in SMU's 2-1 victory over St. Thomas on Jan. 29. … Twenty-two of the Cardinals' 52 goals this season have come from freshmen. … Kaye Collier (HIbbing, Minn.) finished with 23 saves in Friday's loss to Saint Benedict. Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) and Erin Johnson-Buscemi (Medina, Minn.), meanwhile, shared the goaltending duties in Saturday's 4-1 win. Gustafson stopped all 18 shots she faced, while Johnson-Buscemi kicked out eight of the nine third-period CSB shots. … Gustafson enters this weekend's games against Gustavus with a 1.50 goals-against-average and a .955 save percentage, while Collier has compiled a 1.97 GAA and a .923 save percentage, while also boasting a team-leading seven wins. … SMU has scored first in 12 of its 21 games, going 11-0-1. SMU is 0-7-2 when its opponent scores first. … The Cardinals opened the season with three straight wins. SMU's 3-0-0 start was its first since going 4-0-0 to open the 1999-2000 season — the program's second year of existence | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
The Gusties, winners of nine MIAC regular-season titles — including the last six straight — and the last seven MIAC tournament crowns, are ranked No. 8 in the latest USCHO.com Poll. … With their win over UW-Stevens Point on Tuesday, the Gusties have now won three straight, four of their last five and are unbeaten in their last seven (5-0-2). Gustavus has not lost since a 2-1 setback at St. Catherine on Jan. 28. … Eleven of GAC's 21 games have been decided by one goal or less. … Two of Gustavus' last four games have gone into overtime — GAC tied Concordia 3-3 on Feb. 5, then beat Hamline 2-1 last Friday. … Amanda Cartony scored two goals against the Pointers on Tuesday and has now scored four goals in her last three games. … Allie Schwab comes into this weekend's series against Saint Mary's as the team-leader in goals with 12, while Lindsey Hjelm boasts team highs in assists (12) — including three against UW-Stevens Point Tuesday — and points (21). … Gustauvs has six players — Hjelm (21), Schwab (17), Lisa Tuuri (11), Melissa Doyle (10), Cartony (10) and Mollie Carroll (10) — with 10 or more points. … Danielle Justice has appeared in 20 of the team's 21 games in goal, owning a 1.10 goals-against-average and a .941 save percentage. … The Gusties are unbeaten at home this season (8-0-3). GAC is 7-3-3 away from the Don Roberts Ice Arena. … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 63-21 — including 24-3 in the first period. … Gustavus is 14-2-1 when scoring first | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics