ST. JOSEPH, Minn. - The College of Saint Benedict hockey team (7-4-2, 3-1-2 MIAC) will meet No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus (9-2-0, 6-0 MIAC) in a home-and-home series on Jan. 12-13. The Bennies host the Gusties at 7 p.m., on Friday (Jan. 12) at Ritsche Arena in St. Cloud before traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a  2 p.m., match-up Saturday (Jan. 13) afternoon.   
 
The Bennies, which have set a program mark with four straight shutouts (Dubuque, 8-0, 6-0; and Lake Forest, 4-0, 1-0). have a 7-4-2 overall record and 3-1-2 record in the MIAC. CSB sits in third place with 11 MIAC points and is tied with Augsburg (8-4, 4-2), (11 points). (RV) Hamline (7-3, 5-1) is second in the MIAC with Gustavus in first place with 18 points. Following the match ups with Gustavus, Saint Benedict will have a home-and-home series with Hamline on Jan. 19-20.

About the Gusties
Gustavus is 6-0 in the MIAC and the defending regular season and tournament champions. Ranked No. 2 in the latest UCHO poll, the Gusties sit 9-2 overall with just two losses to No. 1 UW-River Falls by scores of 2-0 (at River Falls) and 3-2 in St. Peter. Head Coach Mike Carroll is in his 25^th season with Gustavus, owning a 501-125-48 overall record. He is the school's career wins leader and owns 17 MIAC regular season titles, including three straight. Gustavus leads the MIAC in scoring with 2.7 goals per game with 37 goals in 11 games and have allowed a league-low seven goals. Hailey Holland ranks fourth in the league with nine goals and Brooke Power has seven. Katie McCoy leads the MIAC in goals against average at .61 with six allowed in 10 games. She has 149 saves in 585.25 minutes and a league-best .961 saves percentage.
  
Series Notes – Gustavus vs. CSB 
In the last match up between the MIAC teams, CSB dropped an 5-1 decision on the road on Jan. 14, 2023. In the series, the Gusties have won 13 straight games with an 48-3-1 overall mark. In league play, CSB trails GAC, 45-3-1. The Bennies' last win over GAC was an 3-2 overtime win at St. Peter, Minn., on Dec. 5, 2015. CSB's last win at home was a 4-2 decision on Jan. 31, 2014.
  
Inside look at Saint Benedict 
In 2023, Saint Benedict has totaled 41 goals (second, MIAC; 14^th, NCAA DIII) and allowed 28. CSB has 48 assists (4^th, MIAC; 24^th, NCAA DIII). With 3.15 goals per game, CSB is fifth in the MIAC and 18^th in NCAA DIII. The Bennies have a 52.9 percent success rank on face-offs for sixth in the MIAC and 27th in NCAA DIII. CSB has 89 team points for 4^th in the MIAC and 20^nd in NCAA DIII while sitting second in the MIAC and fourth in NCAA DIII in shutouts with five on the season. By allowing 2.15 goals per game CSB is sixth in the MIAC and 37^th in DIII.

CSB has 336 saves to 395 for their opponents. In power plays, CSB has gone 7-of-44 while opponents are 7-of-45. CSB has won 369 face offs and lost 345 (51.7 percentage). CSB's seven power play goals ranks eighth in the MIAC and 29^th nationally while its 0.156 power play percentage is seven in the MIAC and 37^th in DIII.

Senior forward Corrine Brown is first in the MIAC and 15th in NCAA DIII with 0.77 assists per game. With four game-winning goals, junior forward Aurora Opsahl leads DIII and the MIAC. She ranks fifth in DIII and first in the MIAC with 0.92 goals per game with a MIAC-best 11 overall. Opsahl is 20^th in DIII and fourth in the MIAC with 1.17 points per game and has two power play goals for 30^th in DIII. Junior center Ava Stinnett ranks fifth in DIII and first in the MIAC with 173 face-off wins with her 0.77 goals per game (nine total) placing her 14^th in DIII and fourth in the MIAC.  Stinnett is tied with Opsahl with two power play goals. She also averages 1.0 points per game for 10^th in the MIAC and 38^th in DIII. Junior goalie Kate Moffat ranks fifth in the MIAC and 51^st in DIII with a 0.924 save percentage and is tied for 12^th in DIII and second in the MIAC with teammate first-year goalie Delaney Norman with two.

Also of note, CSB's Aurora Opsahl and Kate Moffat were named MIAC Athletes of the Week on Jan. 8. Opsahl had four goals in two wins and has scored goals in five straight games. Moffat recorded her second shutout of the season - third in her career - in a 4-0 win over Lake Forest.

CSB has 5 goals or more 5 times in 2023-24 – 12 times double-digit goals in school history.
Five times this season, Saint Benedict has scored five goals or more, all victories. CSB has a high of eight in the 8-0 win over Dubuque on Dec. 8. In the history of the program, CSB has five goals or more 92 times, resulting in 87 wins against just five losses or ties. CSB has scored double-digit goals 12 times but not since a 10-1 win over Concordia-Moorhead on Nov. 20, 2005.

CSB has registered five goals or more five times since going it six times in 2014-15. Eight times in program history, Bennies have recorded five goals in a game five times in a season. In the 14-12-1 season of 1999-00 CSB scored five goals or more 11 times, reaching double digits four times with a high of 17 (17-1 win over Hamline, Dec. 10, 1999). From Dec. 10-11 1999, CSB had a combined 29 goals for a school mark in 17-1 and 12-0 wins over Hamline. That CSB team nearly matched it with 27 on Feb. 4-5, 2000 with 14-0 and 13-1 wins over Bethel. In the 2000-01 season, CSB had nine games of five goals or more, including reaching double digits three times. Among those explosive offensive efforts, CSB had 10-3 and 11-3 wins over Bethel on Jan. 5-6, 2001, and a 10-1 win on Jan. 19 2001 against Hamline. In both 1997-98 (11-8-2 record) and 1998-99 (11-15-0 record), the Bennies recorded five or more goal seven times. In 1997-98, twice they had double-digit goals, including 12-0 over Carleton on Feb. 21, 1998. In the final two games of the 1997-98 season, CSB defeated Iowa State, 11-2 and 5-0. The Iowa State program has since been discontinued.

Player Notes
Junior center Ava Stinnett ranks fifth in DIII and first in the MIAC with 173 face-off wins with her 0.77 goals per game (nine total) placing her 14^th in DIII and fourth in the MIAC.  Stinnett is tied with Opsahl with two power play goals. She also averages 1.0 points per game for 10^th in the MIAC and 38^th in DIII. She is second in the MIAC with 10 goals scored. Stinnett tallied five goals in in a pair of shutout wins over Dubuque, 8-0 and 6-0 on Dec. 8-9 at home. Stinnett tied the program mark with four goals in a game against Dubuque on Dec. 8 in an 8-0 home win. She also had a goal and an assist against Dubuque in the 6-0 win on Dec. 9.
Stinnett, who has played in 62 career games, has 193 shots on net with 22 goals and 21 assists in her career. A year ago, she was third in the MIAC for face-off wins against total face-offs (261-of-558). She also tied for fifth in the MIAC with four game-winning goals of the seven goals she scored last year. Stinnett has six career-game-winning goals. She has 43 points with 17 a year ago a career-high, but with 13 already this year, she is just four points away from that high mark and played just 13 games.
 
A returning All-MIAC performer, Opsahl has a team-MIAC best 11 goals this season, including four in the most recent series against Lake Forest, when she secured her first career hat trick. She also has goals in five straight games. Opsahl, who has played in 56 career games, has 28 career goals, 22 assists and 50 points. In her career, she has seven-game winning goals. Last year, she played in 26 games, with a career-high of two goals against UW-Eau Claire on Oct. 29, 2022. Opsahl tallied a goal in seven straight games as a sophomore. The seven-goal streak began on January 31, 2022, against UW-Superior. In the 2023-24 season,  With four game-winning goals in 2023-24, Opsahl leads DIII and the MIAC. She ranks fifth in DIII and first in the MIAC with 0.92 goals per game with a MIAC-best 11 overall. Opsahl is 20^th in DIII and fourth in the MIAC with 1.17 points per game and has two power play goals for 30^th in DIII.
  
Senior forward Corrine Brown has scored two goals this season, including one against nationally-ranked UW-Eau Claire on the road. She also had the game-winning overtime goal in the 5-4 decision over Concordia on Nov. 11. She now has 13 career goals, 28 assists, 175 shots and has played in 64 games. Brown has one multi-goal performance at CSB as she tallied two goals as a junior against UW- Superior on November 22, 2022. In the most recent series, Brown broke the school record in assists with five in a single game on December 8, 2022, against Dubuque. With three more assists against Dubuque (6-0 win, Dec. 9), she had eight on the weekend, tied for the most in a two-game series in school history. With the performance, Brown earned the MIAC Offensive Athlete of the Week honors on December 11, 2023.
 
Junior forward Emma Rooks tallied two goals against Bethel, bringing her total to 14 career goals. This was Rook's second multi-goal performance as she scored a hat trick against St. Scholastica on November 19, 2022. 

Senior forward Jamie Benzie recorded her first multi-point game of her career against Concordia-Moorhead on November 9, 2023. This was Benzie's first two goal game of her career. Benzie also registered her first assist of the season on November 18, 2023, at St. Scholastica in a 1-1 decision.

Junior goaltender Kate Moffat is ranked fifth in the MIAC in save percentage and has recorded 254 saves (.921 PCT). She has played in 28 career games with 398 total saves with an overall record of 8-5 2.

First-Year Impact
Emily Wendorf, Shae Stinnett and Brooklyn Johnson have stood out on the Bennie roster this season. Wendorf has two goals and seven assists for nine points as she ranks fourth on CSB in scoring. Johnson has recorded three goals on 15 shots this season. In the 8-0 win over Dubuque, Stinnett scored her first career goal and also has an assist in her first season with the program. In addition, first-year goalie Delaney Norman has a 2-1-0 record with both of her wins by shutout.
 
Macy leads CSB Hockey 
Head coach Lindsay Macy  has started her second year as head coach at Saint Benedict. In her first year, Macy directed the Bennies to a program-best 11 conference wins and tied the program-mark for total wins with 14. CSB, who 14-12 overall and 11-7 record for third in the MIAC in 2022-23, directed the Bennies into the conference semifinals. Two players were named All-MIAC (Jenna Timm, Aurora Opsahl). At CSB she has a career record of 21-16-2 and 14-8-2 in the MIAC.