The Teams
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-2-1)
vs.
Marian Sabres (3-5-3)
The Vitals
Friday, Dec. 1 • SMU Ice Arena • 7:05 p.m.
Last Action
The Cardinals are coming off their second straight win, a 9-1 nonconference victory over Northland on Nov. 20. … Marian, meanwhile, is coming off last Saturday's 3-3 tie with Lake Forest.
Conference Standings
Through Thursday, November 30
This and That
The Cardinals got a third-period goal by Ryan Stinson (Winona, Minn.) with less than 10 minutes remaining as Saint Mary's beat Marian 5-4 a year ago. … Stinson scored a pair of goals and assisted on another in the Cardinals’ 9-1 nonconference win over Northland. … Eight different Cardinals scored goals vs. Northland, including the first-ever collegiate goals by Sam Phillips (Red Wing, Minn.) and Nate Agard (Stillwater, Minn.). … Along with their goals, Colin Emans (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Ryan Holland (Winona, Minn.) each had 2 assists vs. Northland. … SMU has won two straight, outscoring its opponents 16-6.
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CARDINAL PROFILEJosh Knudtson
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key as Cardinals take on Marian
WINONA, Minn. — Through the season’s first seven games, the Saint Mary’s University’s men’s hockey team has scored a whopping 33 goals — including season-highs of seven and nine in their last two games.
A year ago, the Cardinals managed just 24 goals in their opening seven games.
So, what makes this year’s start so much more explosive than last year?
It’s got to be some diamond-in-the-rough, sharp-shooting freshman, right?
Hardly.
Jason Fillipp (Fox River Grove, Ill.) is the freshman scoring leader with three goals.
OK, then it must be the strength of one of SMU’s veterans, who has hoisted the Cardinals’ on his back and is carrying the offensive load on his own.
Not quite.
Colin Emans (Hutchinson, Minn.) and Ryan Stinson (Winona, Minn.) share the team’s goal-scoring lead with five each — hardly Herculean efforts.
Just what is the Cardinals’ offensive secret weapon?
Can you say, “sharing.”
Thirteen different players have scored in SMU’s first seven games, while 19 of the 21 Cardinals who have seen playing time have notched at least one point.
“Right from the start, all the way back to the beginning of dryland and captain’s practices, this team has shown great team chemistry,” said SMU coach Don Olson. “They all get along, on and off the ice, and they are all on the same page when it comes to what this team wants to accomplish this season.”
In other words, the Cardinals have all checked their egos at the front door — and it’s paying big dividends.
Take last Monday’s 9-1 nonconference victory over Northland as a perfect example.
Stinson may have stolen the headlines with his two goals, but when all was said and done, eight players scored goals — including the first-ever as Cardinals by Sam Phillips (Red Wing, Minn.) and Nate Agard (Stillwater, Minn.) — while seven others had at least one assist.
In other words, the Cardinals dressed 18 skaters — 15 of whom recorded at least one point.
Now that’s spreading the wealth.
And that’s the Cardinals’ secret to their early-season success.
“It was great to see so many different people contribute offensively,” Olson said following the victory over Northland — the Cardinals’ second straight. “I thought we did a lot of very good things (vs. the Lumberjacks) and that continued improvement is encouraging.”
Olson also warned, however, that, while a 4-2-1 mark at this stage is a great way to get the season off on the right foot, it’s just that — a start.
“Our goal is to make sure to get better every day,” said Olson, whose team is back in action Friday, playing host to Marian College in a nonconference game. “So far, we’ve done just that — now we have to focus on continuing that trend.”