WINONA, Minn.  — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team kicks off conference play on Friday, as the Cardinals host St. Thomas in a 7 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0-0 MIAC | 0-2-0 Overall) vs. St. Thomas Tommies (0-0-0 MIAC | 1-1-0 Overall)
 
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Last Action:
• Saint Mary's: The Cardinals dropped both of their nonconference games against ninth-ranked UW-Superior last weekend at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Yellowjackets handed Saint Mary's a 3-2 overtime setback on Friday evening, before completing the sweep with a 5-1 win in the rematch on Saturday | UW-S Recap 1 * UW-S Recap 2
• St. Thomas: The Tommies, who trailed 2-0 after two periods, scored three unanswered goals—including the game-winner with just three seconds remaining in regulation—as UST rallied to beat UW-Eau Claire 3-2 Friday at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. | Recap
 
Saint Mary's vs. St. Thomas—A Year Ago:
• November 16, 2013:  Saint Mary's had St. Thomas on the ropes, as the Cardinals scored the game's first two goals and held a 3-2 advantage late in the second period. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the quick-striking Tommies scored a pair of goals in the final 59 seconds of the second period—including the eventual game-winner with seven seconds remaining—in handing Saint Mary's a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. | Recap
• November 17, 2013: Saint Mary's rematch with St. Thomas got off to a eerily similar start to the opening game of the two-game conference series—with one team jumping out to a 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Cardinals—who scored the game's first two goals in Saturday's 4-3 loss at UST—this time around it was the Tommies who got out to the 2-0 lead. And the Tommies didn't stop there, as UST would score three times in the game's opening 20 minutes and never looked back in handing Saint Mary's a 4-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. | Recap
 
Up Next:
•  The Cardinals and Tommies return to the ice on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series—this time at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. Puck drop is set for 2 p.m.
 
Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
Friday's game against St. Thomas is the third straight home game for the Cardinals, who play five of their first six contests at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. … The Cardinals' first four games this season are against nationally ranked teams. UW-Superior entered last weekend's games ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Top 10, while St. Thomas heads into this weekend's conference openers ranked No. 8. … The Cardinals' two goals in last Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to UW-Superior came from freshmen—Kayla Pierson (Shorewood, Ill. and Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.)—who were playing in their first collegiate games. … Pierson also picked up her first collegiate assist, as did fellow freshman Hannah Croonquist (St. Paul, Minn.). … Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) accounted for Saint Mary's lone goal in last Saturday's 5-1 setback vs. UW-Superior. … Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.)—who led the team in assists with 10 and shared the team lead in points with 15 a year ago—collected a pair of assists vs. UW-Superior last weekend. … Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) stopped 34 shots against UW-Superior Friday—just two saves shy of her career-high 36-save effort against St. Norbert on Jan. 15, 2014. … Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) got the start in goal in last Saturday's rematch vs. the Yellowjackets, finishing with 29 saves. … The Cardinals scored first in both games vs. UW-Superior last weekend. … Saint Mary's did not trail in last Friday's season-opener against the Yellowjackets—until UW-Superior scored 2:35 into overtime.
 
Scouting The St. Thomas Tommies:
2014-15 Roster | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics
St. Thomas' dramatic 3-2 win over UW-Eau Claire was its first of the season. The Tommies dropped a 6-4, season-opening decision at fourth-ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 1. … Led by nine seniors, coach Tom Palkowski guided the 2013-14 Tommies to 20 wins, a sweep of the MIAC regular-season and playoff titles, and the program's first NCAA Frozen Four berth in its 16-year varsity history. … UST returns to First-Team All-MIAC performers in Paige Baldwin—who led the Tommies with 11 goals a year ago—and Megan Juricko. … Baago and Tori Bailey have each scored two goals this season, accounting for four of the Tommies' seven goals in their first two games. … Baago also leads the team in points with four, while Juricko has compiled a team-best three assists—one more than Baago, Courtney Umland and Heidi Winiecki. … Phaylen Meyer has started both games in goal for the Tommies, compiling a  4.06 goals-against-average and a .795 save percentage. … The Tommies have scored a pair of goals in both the first and second periods, while adding three third-period goals. UST's opponents, meanwhile, have netted three goals in both the first and third periods, while scoring twice in the game's middle stanza.