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2005-2006 Records:
2-6-2 MIAC, 3-10-2 Overall
Last Week's Results:
Gustavus 4, Saint Mary's 2 / Details
Gustavus , Saint Mary's 0 / Details
Upcoming Events:
Fri., Jan. 27: Concordia at SMU, 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Jan. 28: Concordia at SMU, 2:05 p.m.
Cardinal News and Notes:
Seven of the Cardinals' 10 losses — including both setbacks last weekend vs. No. 3 Gustavus — have come against nationally ranked opponents. … Thanks to goals by Jessica Ribish (Elm Grove, Wis.) and Madeline Loftus (Parsippany, N.J.), SMU jumped out to a 2-0 first-period advantage vs. GAC Friday — marking just the third time all season that Gustavus trailed at any point in a game, and just the second time the Gusties' trailed by more than one goal. … Loftus had a hand in both SMU goals vs. GAC, scoring one and assisting on the other. … With her two points, Loftus, who leads the team with six goals, moved into a share for the team's points lead (10) with Amy Madden (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) … SMU goalies Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) faced 114 GAC shots in the weekend series — 57 in each game. … The Cardinals have now dropped their last eight straight vs. Gustavus, dating back to a 2-1 win on March 2, 2002 in the MIAC Tournament title game. GAC beat SMU 2-0 three days later in the NCAA quarterfinals. … Gustavus' 10 goals scored vs. SMU Saturday equalled the program's all-time high, set on Feb. 27, 1998 in a 10-4 loss to — who else? — the Gusties. … The Cardinals have been outscored in all three periods, including 25-11 in the second and 21-13 in the third.
Cardinals give nationally ranked GAC Game 1 scare,
but Gusties' outburst in rematch is SMU's nightmare
Who's Hot?

Madeline
Loftus
1 G, 1 A
vs. Gusties
WINONA, Minn. — Last Friday, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team gave third-ranked Gustavus a little scare, jumping out to a 2-0 first-period lead before giving up four unanswered goals in a 4-2 setback.

Gustavus wasn't about to be snuck up on two days in a row, however — and the Gusties' performance on Saturday will be giving SMU coach Terry Mannor nightmares for a long, long time.

The Gusties scored nine goals in the first two periods — outshooting SMU 40-7 in the process — en route to a 10-0 victory and a sweep of the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series.

"I think we took them by surprise a little (on Friday) — they might have come in a little overconfident and maybe taken us lightly," said Mannor. "But they were ready for us (Saturday). It felt like the pace of the game was a lot slower (on Saturday), we certainly didn't have much jump in our step."

The emotional drain of Friday's upset bid and eventual loss, coupled with the two-and-a-half hour drive and early start time Saturday, could have had something to do with that.

And so could the explosiveness of the Gusties.

"They are a very skilled team, no question about that," said Mannor, whose team was outshot 57-15 on Saturday and 114-36 for the two games combined. "Whenever you play a game like we did on Friday, there's a good chance you are going to have a bit of an (emotional) letdown — and against a team like Gustavus, you can't afford to do that."

The Gusties — who found themselves down 2-0 thanks to back-to-back goals by SMU's Jessica Ribish (Elm Grove, Wis.) and Madeline Loftus (Parsippany, N.J.) in the first 16 minutes of Friday's game — didn't waste any time putting Saturday's rematch out of reach. scoring four goals in a four-minute span late in the first period.

Gustavus' offense continued to pepper SMU goalies Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) in the second period, scoring five times, including two by Maria Gunderson that completed the GAC freshman's second hat trick of the season.

Jung, who stopped 26 of the 32 shots she faced Saturday — after kicking out 54 of 57 on Friday — gave way to Gage midway through the second period, and the SMU junior posted 21 saves on 25 shots.

"(Gustavus') first four goals were all rebound goals. We just weren't tying people up or moving them out from in front of the net," said Mannor, whose team fell to 2-6-2 in the MIAC and 3-10-2 overall. "It was like the floodgates just opened and there was nothing we could do to stop them.

"It's tough to lose a game like that, but we just have to put it behind us and get ready for Concordia (next weekend)."