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2005-2006 Records:
5-7-0 MIAC, 6-13-1 Overall
Last Week's Results:
Saint Mary's 2, Hamline 1 OT / Details
Saint Mary's 3, Saint Mary's 0 / Details
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Fri., Feb. 17: SMU at St. Olaf, 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Feb. 18: St. Olaf at SMU, 7:05 p.m.
Cardinal News and Notes:
The Cardinals' back-to-back wins over Hamline last weekend extended their season-high winning streak to four games. … SMU's shutout wins over Concordia and Hamline are the most in a season since the Cardinals blanked Finlandia and Bethel during the 2001-2002 season. … After going 16 games without a goal, SMU’s Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) has scored four times in SMU’s last four games. … Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb.), who earned MIAC Player of the Week honors after stopping 67 of the 68 shots he faced last weekend vs. Concordia, kicked out 59 of 60 shots vs. the Pipers — including a 28-save shutout on Saturday. … Nosal has now stopped 126 of 128 shots during SMU's current four-game winning streak. … SMU's 3-0 win Saturday was its first home win (1-7-1). … Karl Reinke (Duluth, Minn.) netted his first collegiate goal vs. Hamline Saturday. … SMU’s 2-1 win Friday was its lowest offensive output in a win this season.
Cardinals' seniors make the most of Senior Night,
as SMU completes 2nd straight sweep with 3-0 win

WINONA, Minn. —
Who's Hot?

Curtis
Nosal
2nd shutout
in 4 games
The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team honored its graduating seniors prior to last Saturday evening's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline, so it was only fitting that the seniors remained in the spotlight once the game started.

The Cardinals, behind goals from seniors Tim McNamara (Hastings, Minn.) and Adam Fingerhut (Oak Brook, Ill.), and the outstanding goaltending of senior Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb.), completed their two-game series sweep of the Pipers with a 3-0 victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

"That might have been one of the best games we've played all year," said SMU coach Don Olson, who got a goal by Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) two minutes into overtime to lift SMU to a 2-1 victory over the Pipers in Friday's opening game of the two-game series. "I thought we played pretty well (Friday night), but (Saturday), we were very dominant."

Thanks in large part to the continued stellar play of Nosal.

The Cardinals' senior had gone 32 games in his career without posting a shutout — and in a span of two weeks, he now boasts a pair.

"I can't say enough about the way Curtis is playing right now," said Olson of Nosal, who stopped all 28 shots he faced on Saturday and has now kicked out 126 of the 128 shots he's faced during SMU's current season-high four-game winning streak. "He is so focused and so in control — and the rest of the team just feeds off that."

McNamara gave the Cardinals all the offense they would need on Saturday, scoring his sixth goal of the season on the powerplay five minutes into the opening period. Fingerhut would make it 2-0 at 2:14 of the third period, and Karl Reinke (Duluth, Minn.) completed the scoring with his first collegiate goal with five minutes remaining in regulation.

"This was a nice sweep for us," said Olson, whose team snapped an 0-7-1 slump on their home ice with the victory. "We seemed to get on a little (offensive) roll last weekend (in 7-0 and 7-2 wins at Concordia) and we just kept that going (against Hamline).

"We are playing with a lot of confidence right now, and, hopefully, that can continue over the last three weeks of the season."