SMU Women's Hockey

Melissa
Mondo
11 goals,
9 assists

Nikki
Jung
2.99 GAA,
.910 save %

Susannah
Brokl
18 goals,
18 assists

Shannon
Herrick
4.35 GAA,
.854 save %

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Cardinals earned their sixth straight MIAC post-season appearance with a 5-3 victory over Bethel on the final day of the regular season last Saturday. With that win, SMU secured the No. 5 spot, finishing one point ahead of Augsburg. … The Oles closed out the season with a 10-8-0 MIAC record, finishing fouirth in the conference standings. St. Olaf locked up the No. 4 seed with a 7-0, 5-1 sweep of St. Catherine. Susannah Brokl had two goals and two assists and Lindsey Boeser added two goals in the Oles’ 7-0 Game 1 win, and Kate Bennett netted a pair of shorthanded goals in St. Olaf’s 5-1 Game 2 win.

LAST MEETINGS: February 17-18, 2006
Saint Mary’s 3, St. Olaf 1 / Saint Mary’s 4, St. Olaf 3
Game 1, at Winona, Minn.: The Cardinals got scoring from three different players — including back-to-back second-period goals from Amy Madden (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) and Rachel Harrison (Madison, Wis.) — en route to the win. Madeline Loftus (Parsippany, N.J.) accounted for SMU’s other goal, while Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) stopped 30 of 31 shots.
Game 2, at Northfield, Minn.: SMU continued to spread the goal-scoring out in the teams’ rematch, getting goals from Harrison, Madden, Becky Jelenc (Sheboygan, Wis.) and Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) in completing the MIAC sweep with a 4-3 win. The Cardinals trailed 2-1 after the first period, but erupted for three second-period goals in a span of three minutes. Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) stopped 31 of 34 shots in goal for the win.

SERIES HISTORY: With their sweep this season, the Cardinals improved to 8-3-1 overall vs. the Oles.

BACK IN THE PLAYOFFS: SMU has qualified for all six MIAC post-season playoffs. This is also the second straight year SMU is the tournament's No. 5 seed — the Cardinals knocked off Augsburg 3-1 a year ago, before falling ot Gustavus 5-1 in the semifinals. … The Oles are making their third straight MIAC post-season appearance. This is also the second straight year St. OIaf is the No. 3 seed. The Oles fell to St. Thomas 8-1 in the semifinals a year ago.

CARDINAL LEADERS: Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) ended the regular-season as the Cardinals’ offensive leader in goals (11) and points (20). … Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.) is the team’s assist leader with 11, including five in her last six games. … The Cardinals have six players with 10 or more points. … As a team,
SMU has scored 62 goals — 15 more than they scored all of last year. … Goalies Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) and Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) and combined to post a 2.92 goals-against-average and a .910 save percentage.

OLE LEADERS: Susannah Brokl leads the Oles in goals (18) and points with a school single-season record 36. … Lindsay Boeser ist he team’s lead in assists with 23 and joined Brokl in the 30-point Club with 33. … St. Olaf boasts six players with 15 or more points. … Goalie Shannon Herrick has played all by 25 minutes of the Oles’ 25 games, boasting a 4.35 goals-against-average and an .854 save percentage. … Herrick recorded her first collegiate shutout with 17-save effort in St. Olaf’s 7-0 win over St. Catherine last weekend.

SMU CAREER LEADERS: In just three seasons, Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) has collected 29 goals, ranking her sixth all-time, while her 50 points rank her rank her eighth. … Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) is second in career saves (1,788), first in saves per game (28) and third in goals-against-average (2.50). … Jenna Roland (Boyne City, Mich.) and Becky Jelenc (Sheboygan, Wis.) also ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively in penalties (87 and 84) and penalty minutes (174 and 168).

SMU THIS AND THAT: The Cardinals are now 8-1-1 in their last nine games, after having their eight-game unbeaten streak snapped with their 2-0 loss to Bethel last Friday. … Jenn Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) scored two goals in SMU's playoff-clinching win over Bethel. … Both of SMU's last two losses have come by shutout. … The Cardinals have won 11 or more games in all eight years of the program's existence. … Seven of SMU’s 11 losses have come against nationally ranked teams. … Eight of SMU’s 11 wins have been by two goals or less. … The Cardinals have played seven overtime games — one short of the school record eight set in 2002-2003 — going 3-1-3.

ST. OLAF THIS AND THAT: Ten of St. Olaf’s 12 wins have come against conference opponents. … After opening their season with a 6-0 loss to UW-Stevens Point, the Oles put together a season-best four-game winning streak. St. Olaf has not won more than two games in a row since. … St. Olaf boasts a 4-4-0 record on its home ice, while the Oles are 8-9-0 on the road. … Seven of the Oles’ 12 wins have come by two goals or less. …