ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – After starting the season with a pair of neutral-site, nonconference games, the College of Saint Benedict hockey team jumps into MIAC play against one of the best teams in Division III. CSB hosts No. 4 Hamline University Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. at the MAC in St. Cloud, then travels to St. Paul for a 5 p.m. game Friday at Hamline's home rink - which doubles as the Minnesota Wild practice facility.
 
ABOUT THE PIPERS
After taking third in Division III last season, Hamline is ranked fourth to start the new year and is 2-0 with a pair of one-goal wins. The Pipers won a 5-4 thriller over nationally ranked Eau Claire and a 2-1 overtime game against UW-Superior. McKenna Hulslander has been solid in net and has 71 saves and Bre Simon has two goals. Six different players have scored so far for the Pipers.
 
LAST MEETING
Hamline swept CSB last season, winning 8-0 in St. Cloud and 6-2 the next night in St. Paul. Riley Schneider scored the first goal of the game in Game 2 of the series, and Courtney Conlin and Kylie Eklund both had assists on the team's second goal. Julia Carle made 47 saves in the second game.
 
THE STORYLINE
CSB got its 2018-19 season off to a fast start with a 5-1 win over Chatham, then dropped a 4-2 game to Concordia-Wisconsin. Saint Benedict looks to come out firing against the Pipers, as it found plenty of success when it outshot Chatham 45-16 in the season opener.
 
WHO TO WATCH:
Maddie Dockry, Courtney Conlin and Annika Brodt both have two points so far to lead CSB. Dockry leads the team with two goals, and Conlin has two assists. Senior goalie Julia Carle is seventh in the MIAC with 35 saves, and sophomore goalie Kailee Medved is third in the league with a 1.00 goals-against average. Six different players have scored so far for CSB, and two other skaters have also notched an assist.