The College of Saint Benedict hockey team will round out its season this weekend with a home-and-home series against its rival St. Thomas. The Tommies are currently in second place in the MIAC standings (24 points), while the Blazers sit in eighth (12 points).
 
The Schedule:
Friday: St. Thomas @ Blazers, 7:30 p.m., Municipal Athletic Complex, St. Cloud, Minn.
Saturday: Blazers @ St. Thomas, 2:00 p.m., St. Paul, Minn.
 
The Records:
CSB: 6-12-2 (5-9-2 MIAC)
UST: 11-8-4 (10-2-4 MIAC)
  
About the Tommies:
After being picked to finish second in the MIAC, the Tommies have done exactly what they are supposed to do this year. They have lost just twice during this conference year, once to first-place Gustavus and once to third-place Concordia. They are powered by the conference's most prolific offense, which is scoring an average of 3.04 goals per game this season. Despite their high-octane offense, they are susceptible on the penalty kill, where they are eighth in the conference with an 80.3 penalty kill rate.
 
Who to Watch:
CSB:
So. F Elli Marvin (Leads the Blazers with seven goals, five assists, and 12 points)
Sr. G Jenna Traut (Leads the MIAC with 513 saves)
So. F Stephanie Kirk (Second on team with six goals, tied for team lead with five assists)

UST:
Sr. F. Tara Baago (Leads the MIAC with 29 points, second in goals with 13)
Jr. F. Courtney Umland (Leads the MIAC with 17 assists, second in points with 17)
Fy. G. Paige Kittelson (First-year goalie is second in MIAC with a 0.625 win percentage)
 
Storyline:
After being swept last weekend by Bethel, the Blazers have a very tough road ahead of them in order to make the playoffs. They will need to win once and tie once against the Tommies, and then pray for both Augsburg and St. Catherine to be swept in their respective matchups. The Blazers do however have in their hands the power to end their season by spoiling St. Thomas' bid for home-ice advantage and a first-round bye in the playoffs if they are able to upset the Tommies in one or both games.
 
Last Year:
In 2014, the then-No.9 Tommies swept the Blazers in the final weekend series of the year. In the first game, the Blazers found themselves down 0-2 at the first intermission. Goals from Tara Frey and Siri berg-Moberg pulled them even with St. Thomas. The Blazers however, were unable to stop the Tommie scoring machine, and lost 2-5. In the second game, a Maddie Rainey goal had the Blazers tied 1-1 with the Tommies heading into the third period. The Tommies however, scored in the first 30 seconds of the period and then held the Blazers scoreless to win the game 2-1.
 
Last Time Out:
Last weekend the Blazers played a two-game home-and-home series with Bethel. In the Friday night game in St. Cloud, sophomore defender Katie Cristan gave the Blazers a 1-0 lead, breaking the scoreless tie eight minutes into the second period. Bethel's Hadley Cookson answered with a goal of her own just five minutes later, and the Royals went on to win 3-1. In the Saturday game, the Blazers outshot the Royals 26-21, but were unable to find the back of the net. The Royals won that game 3-0.