ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team kicks off its season this weekend, traveling to St. Norbert for a 6:30 p.m. nonconference game on Friday, before heading to Mequon, Wis., for a 4 p.m. nonconference showdown with Concordia-Wis. on Saturday.




The Matchups:
Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 | Cornerstone Community Center
SMU Cardinals (2012: 7-12-6 Overall) vs. St. Norbert (2012: 13-14-0 Overall)
Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012 | Ozaukee Ice Center
SMU Cardinals (2012: 7-12-6 Overall) vs. Concordia-Wis. (2012: 7-15-3 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Video Preview | SMU Preview: The Nuts & Bolts | MIAC Preview
Live Video: vs. St. Norbert | Live Stats/Video: vs. Concordia-Wis.

Last Action:
This weekend's games are the season-openers for Saint Mary's, St. Norbert and Concordia-Wis.

SMU vs. St. Norbert — Their Last Meeting:
November 4, 2011: The Cardinals erupted for five goals — including a hat trick by Nicole Olson (New Brighton, Minn.) — to cruise past St. Norbert 5-3 in a nonconference game at SMU Ice Arena. Four of the Cardinals' goals came in the third period — two apiece for Olson and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) — for the come from behind win.

SMU vs. Concordia-Wis. — Their Last Meeting:
November 5, 2011: For the second time in two games, the Cardianlsfound themselves trailing their opponent after the first 20 minutes of play. Unfortunately, the Cardinals were not able to repeat Friday night's performance — a come-from-behind win — as they fell to Concordia (Wis.) 4-2 in a nonconference game at SMU Ice Arena.

Up Next:
The Cardinals kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, traveling to the Vadnais Heights Sports Center for a 7 p.m. game against Hamline on Friday, before returning home to host the Pipers at 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena on Saturday. … St. Norbert is off until Nov. 9-10, when the Green Knights host St. Scholastica in a pair of NCHA games — the first at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 9 and the second at 2 p.m. on Nov. 10. … Concordia-Wis.'s next action is also against St. Scholastica, as the Falcons head to Duluth, Minn., next weekend for a pair of games. Friday's game is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday's rematch is slated for 2 p.m.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
The Cardinals closed out their 2011-12 season on a three-game unbeaten streak (1-0-2). … With her three points in SMU's season-ending 3-2 win over Bethel, Nicole Olson closed out the season with a team-best 16 points. It marked the third straight year Olson led the team in points. … Olson also shared the team lead in assists (9) with Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.), while Erin Stenseth (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Breanna Peterson (Macomb, Mich.) closed out the year with a team-high eight goals, one more than Olson. … Olson's two-goal game in SMU's season-finale against Bethel marked the second time this season she scored two or more goals in a game. Olson recorded her first collegiate hat trick and her first collegiate five-point game in SMU's 5-3 win over St. Norbert on Nov. 4. … Olson closed out her collegiate career ranking in the top 10 in all three offensive categories: Points (8th, 66), goals (7th, 32) and assists (10th, 34). … Stenseth closed out the season recording a point in each of the Cardinals' last four games. Peterson, meanwhile, scored in four of SMU's last seven games. … SMU's 49 goals came from 12 different players, while 18 of the 20 Cardinals who have played this season notched at least one point. … Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) started 20 of the team's 25 games in goal, compiling a 2.43 goals-against-average and a .915 save percentage. … Gustafson's 613 saves are fourth in the program's single-season history. … Gustafson's season-high 40-save effort against Saint Benedict on Feb. 4 was just three saves shy of her career best 43 saves against UW-Eau Claire on Nov. 6, 2010. … Gustafson and the Cardinals recorded a pair of shutout victories this season — a 1-0 decision over Hamline on Nov. 11 and a 1-0 victory over Saint Benedict on Feb. 4. … SMU held its opponent to one goal or less seven times this season. …  The Cardinals scored a season-high five goals twice last season — beating Augsburg 5-2 on Jan. 27, while dropping St. Norbert 5-3 on Nov. 4. … Five of SMU's seven wins last season came on the road. The Cardinals were 7-3-4 on their home ice, and 5-5-2 away from the SMU Ice Arena.

Scouting The St. Norbert Green Knights:
2012-13 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
St. Norbert's 2011-12 season came to a screeching halt with back-to-back losses to 10th-ranked UW-Superior in the NCHA O'Brien Cup Playoffs. … SNC's 5-2 post-season-opening loss to UW-Superior snapped the Green Knights' season-high five-game winning streak. … Eleven of St. Norbert's 14 losses in 2011-12 were by two goals or less. … St. Norbert outscored its opponents 45-15 in its 13 wins a year ago. … SNC returns its top three scorers from a year ago, led by Zoe Kurth, who led the team in both assists (13) and points (21). … Andrea Senne finished the 2011-12 season as the team's goal-scoring leader with nine, one more than Kurth and Heniette Ostegaard. … Ostegaard also finished second to Kurth in both assists (11) and points (19). … As a team, the Green Knights scored 69 goals — and surrdndered 69 goals — a year ago. … Katie Aluia and Kaley Gibson saw the brunt of the work in goal for SNC a year ago. Aluia led the team with a 1.90 goals-against-average and a .931 save percentage in 14 games, while Gibson appeared in 11 games, compiling a 3.32 GAA and an .890 save percentage. … The Green Knights went 10-2-0 when scoring the game's first goal, but were just 3-12-0 when their opponent scored first. … In just two years as a varsity program, the Green Knights have compiled a 25-25-4 overall record and have reached the NCHA's O'Brien Cup Playoffs both years.

Scouting The Concordia-Wis. Falcons:
2012-13 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
After going 7-5-1 in their first 13 games of the 2011-12 season, the Falcons struggled to the finish line, going 0-10-2 in their final 12 contests. … Concordia-Wis. played four overtime games a year ago — going 1-0-3. … The Falcons head into the 2012-13 season without their top two scorers — Hilary Christiansen and Alyssa Isaackson — who recorded 18 and 14 points, respectively, in their senior seasons. … Christiansen led the team in both assists (15) and points (19), while Isaackson was the team-leader in goals with 10. … Emily Heckendorf, who recorded seven goals, eight assists and 15 points in her freshman season a year ago, is the top Falcon offensive returner. … Concordia-Wis. used four different goalies — all freshmen — a year ago, led by Jennifer DeGeorge (14 GP, 2.86 GAA, .912 save %) and Andrea Mizanskey (10 GP, 3.83 GAA, .878 save %). … The Falcons lost just once last season when scoring the game's first goal, going 4-1-2, while managing just three wins in 18 games in which their opponent scored first (3-14-1). … The Falcons' 2012-13 schedule includes five games against teams ranked in the top 10 in the nation,¬ and three contests against 2011-12 NCAA Tournament participants, including — Northern Collegiate Hockey Association-rival UW-River Falls.