In the early 1970s, ABC-TV unveiled a hit comedy series based on the 1965 Woody Allen Broadway play, "The Odd Couple."

Felix Unger was an ultra-fastidious, extra-tidy, compulsively clean neatnik with a tendency to drive everyone around him crazy with his neurotic need for order in a world filled with chaos.

Oscar Madison was the ultimate urban slob, a highly paid New York City sportswriter who viewed himself as a rational and down-to-earth man with very simple needs.

As you can guess by the show's title, the two were not exactly compatible.

And while the show was a huge success in the ’70s, about the only chance you have of watching it is in re-runs on Nick at Night or TV Land.

Unless, of course, you happen to be watching the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team. Tthe Cardinals seem to have an odd couple of their own — only these two get along just fine.

Much to the delight of the rest of the team.

Thanks to the "odd" combination of Al Schumacher (Oakdale, Minn.) and Chad Damerow (Albert Lea, Minn.), the Cardinals are off to an 8-3 start — including a 3-1 mark in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Unlike Felix and Oscar, SMU's odd couple actually get along — and it's not their hygiene or housekeeping abilities (or lack thereof) that have earned SMU's dynamic duo the odd couple moniker.

In fact, it's one's ability to dish the puck off (Damerow) and the other's uncanny knack for putting the puck in the net (Schumacher) that's the foundation of their relationship.

As the Cardinals head into their two-week Christmas break, Schumacher leads the team in points with 14, while Damerow is second with 13.

What so odd about that? Nothing, except that 13 of Schumacher's 14 points have been goals, while all 13 of Damerow's points have been assists.

"Both Al and Chad are such tremendous individuals — in the classroom, on the ice, in the lockerroom — and their great starts to the season are a tribute to their hard work," said SMU coach Don Olson. "But to tell you the truth, I never would have imagined that at this point in the season Al would have 14 goals and just one assist, and Chad would have 13 assists with not a single goal."

As baffling as their early-season success is to Olson, it's even more bizarre to Schumacher and Damerow.

"I don't know what it is, it just seems that everything I put on-net goes in," said Schumacher, whose 13 goals are not only tops in the nation, but also three more than he scored in his first two years at SMU combined. "I'm not doing anything different than I have any other year. It's just that the shots that didn't go in before are going in now."

Ironically, it was Damerow who put in extra time over the summer months in hopes of improving his scoring prowess.

"I shot more pucks last summer than I ever have before," said Damerow, who, like Schumacher in goals, leads the nation in assists. "I guess I never looked at myself as a setup man, but if that's what it takes for us to be successful, I don't really mind."

And neither does Olson.

"It is pretty ironic that we have our two scoring leaders at such opposite ends of the spectrum," admitted Olson. "But that's just the way it goes sometimes. Right now, Al is playing with so much confidence that he feels like he can score on every shot. And Chad, while I'm sure he's a bit frustrated at not having any goals, continues to make great decisions on the ice — he shoots when the opportunity presents itself, and he passes the puck off when he needs to."

Both Schumacher and Damerow admit that, while their performances on the ice have certainly turned a few heads around the MIAC and the rest of the nation, individual accolades don't mean a thing if the team isn't successful.

"We take quite a bit of ribbing (from our teammates) — ‘why don't you pass the puck once in a while,’ that kind of thing — but it's all in good fun," said Schumacher, one of the Cardinals' two captains. "The bottom line is, we all want to win, and if that means I score the goals and Chad gets all the assists, then that's what