WINONA, Minn. — If you happen to run into Saint Mary’s University women’s hockey coach Duncan Ryhorchuk on the street, don’t be alarmed if he’s wearing a hard hat and carrying a bundle of blueprints under his arm.

No, the fourth-year head coach hasn’t really traded in his skates and whistle to join a local construction company, but Ryhorchuk has had to do a little remodeling as his Cardinals begin their quest for yet another Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament berth.

Last year, the Cardinals opened the season without all-conference performers Mo Hayes, Missy Westergren and Mindy Westergren — and still managed a second-straight MIAC tournament berth.

This year, Ryhorchuk once again has some huge holes to fill — most notably that of All-American goalie Missie Meemken — as his team bids for the MIAC post-season threepeat.

“Over the last two years, we’ve lost the nucleus of our conference championship and national tournament teams,” admitted Ryhorchuk. “But every team is going to go through that. You are always going to lose players to graduation, it’s just part of the process.”

Besides, it’s not like Ryhorchuk’s cupboard is bare.

The Cardinals return two of their top three scorers in Emily Kearns (Hopkins, Minn.) and Tennie McCabe (Rochester, Minn.). Kearns led the Cardinals in scoring for the second straight year, netting 24 goals and 27 points, while McCabe chipped in five goals and five assists for 10 points.

Kate Williams (Minnetonka, Minn. / 6 assists) and Beth Zubrzycki (South St. Paul, Minn. / 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points) return to lead the Cardinals defensive corps, which leaves Ryhorchuk with just one very key piece of his SMU blueprint yet to be penciled in:

Goalie.

Meemken was a four-year starter for the Cardinals, compiling a 1.87 goals-against-average and a stellar .933 save percentage. During her time between the pipes, Meemken was a three-time All-MIAC selection and a two-time All-American. Along with her school-record GAA and save percentage totals, she also holds the school record for minutes played (5456:07), wins (54) and shutouts (18).

In other words, Meemken’s graduation means the brickwall that opponents would swear covered the SMU net for the past four years is in dire need of some mortar.

“Obviously, it’s very tough to replace someone like Missie, but I think we’ve got some goalies who are eager to give it a shot,” said Ryhorchuk, noting that Kyle Rizner (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) have all shown the ability to play at the collegiate level. “All those players (that have since graduated) did a lot of great things to help this program be successful, but the players that are here now all bring talents and personalities that can potentially do the same thing.

“We’ve had some great players come through this program — and hopefully we are going to have a lot more in the future.”

And if that’s the case — if Ryhorchuk can plug up the holes left by graduation — the Cardinals will certainly be in the hunt for their third MIAC regular-season title in the program’s six years.

“It’s going to be an exciting year,” said Ryhorchuk, whose team placed fourth in the MIAC and lost to eventual champion St. Thomas in the semifinals of the MIAC post-season tournament last year. “We’re young in age and experience, but with that youth comes a lot of emotion and a lot of enthusiasm about playing at the next level.

“The conference is so much deeper than it has been in the past,” continued Ryhorchuk, whose team finished with a 10-4-4 MIAC mark and an 11-10-6 overall record a year ago. “You used to be able to look at the schedule and say, ‘here’s a couple of (sure) wins here, here’s a couple there.’ But now, every game is going to be tough — we are going to have to play up to our abilities every game. If we do that, good things will happen.”