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| Saint Mary's | MIAC | Watch |
St. Joseph, Minn. – The Saint Benedict hockey team (4-6-4 overall, 2-6-2 MIAC) travels to Winona, Minn. this weekend to play a series of games against conference opponent Saint Mary's University (5-9-1 overall, 3-6-1 MIAC). The series kicks off at 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 and wraps up with game two at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 2).
The Storyline: Saint Benedict will need to pick up two wins this weekend to get back on track if they want any chance at making the playoffs this season. Last weekend's loss dropped the Blazers to a two way tie for eighth place in the MIAC standings. Saint Mary's has seven conference points, just one above the Blazers six. With only the top five teams in the playoffs, the Blazers stand in a rough spot that could ultimately end their season.
About Saint Mary's: Saint Mary's enters the series after picking up a win and a tie over Augsburg last weekend. The Cardinals took game one of the series 3-2 at home before earning the 3-3 tie in St. Paul, Minn. Saint Mary's is led in points by Breanna Peterson. Peterson has tallied 13 points so far this season, leading the team with eight goals and has notched five assists. Next in line for SMU is Mary DeBartolo. Debartolo has 11 points from five goals and six assists. Leading the Cardinals in goal is Tori Herrmann, who has put up a .908 save percentage and a 2.73 GAA.
Last Meeting: The last time these two teams met on the ice was Feb. 3 and 4, 2012 at the St. Cloud MAC. Saint Benedict took game one of the series with a 3-2 win. The Blazers held a slim 1-0 lead after the first period, but the offenses exploded in the second. The Blazers stuck first with two goals, running out to a 3-0 lead, but the Cardinals answered back with two of their own to head to the third with the 3-2 score. The offenses were shutout in the final 20 minutes as the Blazers held on for the win. The Cardinals answered back the next night, forcing the series split with a 1-0 shutout over the Blazers. SMU scored a lone first period goal, and got 40 saves from their goaltender for the win.
Who to Watch: Sophomore
Alli O'Brien has been on a hot streak for Saint Benedict so far this season. O'Brien leads the team with nine points, coming from four goals and five assists. Fellow sophomore
Megan Brettingen leads the Blazers in goals, notching five in the 14 games she has played. The Blazers have been solid in goal this season with the duo of junior
Kaitlyn Rolando and sophomore
Jenna Traut. Rolando is coming off a 32 save game against Hamline, with a season save percentage of .896 and 2.55 GAA. Traut is currently ranked fourth in the MIAC in GAA (1.78) and save percentage (.939).
Last Time Out: The last time the Blazers took the ice was in a Thursday-Saturday series against MIAC opponent Hamline. Saint Benedict dropped game one 3-2 in St. Paul, Minn. Game two showed a high level of intensity as the Blazers took the ice at home. Both teams battled to a 0-0 tie, with the goaltenders making a combined total of 74 saves.
