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Cardinal Roster
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Cardinal Statistics
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Cardinal Schedule
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MIAC Standings
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MIAC Statistics
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| 2006-2007 Records: 2-3-1 MIAC, 2-6-2 Overall |
| Last Week's Results Gustavus 4, Saint Mary's 0 / Details Gustavus 5, Saint Mary's 1 / Details |
| Upcoming Games: Fri., Jan. 5: Lake Forest at SMU, 7:05 p.m. Sat., Jan. 6: Lake Forest at SMU, 2:05 p.m. |
| Cardinal News and Notes: The Cardinals saw their winless streak vs. Gustavus climb to 12 (0-11-1) with last weekend's 4-0, 5-1 losses. … SMU has not beaten the Gusties since the 2001-02 season, when the Cardinals knocked off the Gusties 2-1 in the championship game of the MIAC Tournament. … The Cardinals held GAC to 47 shots on goal Saturday, snapping a streak of five straight games in which the Gusties had 50 or more shots vs. SMU. … Over the past four seasons, Gustavus has now outshot SMU 437- 112 and outscsored the Cardinals 45-5. … SMU's 5-1 loss to GAC kept the Cardinals winless on Saturday's this season (0-4: 4-2 loss to UW-Superior, 3-3 tie vs. Augsburg, 3-2 loss to Saint Benedict, 5-1 loss to Gustavus). … SMU’s shutout loss on Friday was its first of the season and first since Bethel blanked the Cardinals 2-0 on Feb. 24, 2006. … Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) kicked out 52 shots vs. the Gusties Friday. It was the second time this season the SMU senior has stopped 50 or more shots in a game. … Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.) netted SMU's lone goal vs. the Gusties. It was her fourth of the season. … Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) leads the team in goals (7) and points (10), while Mueller shares the team lead in assists (3) with Mondo and is second in goals (4) and points (7). … SMU has scored just three times in the second period and has been outscored 14-7 in the game's final 20 minutes. |
pair of conference games to third-ranked Gustavus
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Nikki
Jung 94 saves vs. Gustavus |
Literally
Prior to Friday's game, the Gusties had won all seven meetings during that three-year span, outshooting SMU 334-80 and outscoring the Cardinals 36-4.
But this was a new year, and SMU head coach Terry Mannor was hoping things would be different this time around.
When the final horn sounded Saturday at the SMU Ice Arena, however, the numbers hadn't changed one bit: A 103-32 Gustie advantage in shots on goal and a 9-1 GAC edge in goals scored.
"There's no question they are a good team," said SMU coach Terry Mannor after watching his team fall 4-0 and 5-1 to the third-ranked Gusties. "They stickhandle well, they skate well and they anticipate the play well,"
After a lackluster performance in Friday's 4-0 loss — in which the Gusties outshot SMU 56-11 — the Cardinals put together what Mannor called "their best performance of the season."
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' best wasn't enough.
"You're never happy with a loss, but, believe it or not, that may have been the best game we've played all year," said Mannor of Saturday's 5-1 setback. "Obviously we made a lot of mental mistakes, but they played hard — and they played with heart — for 60 minutes.
"We haven't put together three periods like that all season, and, win or lose, when you give it your all like that for a complete game, that's all I can ask of them."
The Gusties' Kelly Crandall and Stefanie Ubl wasted little time picking up where they left off on Friday, as the GAC duo — who accounted for all four Gustavus goals in its 4-0 triumph over the Cardinals in St. Peter, Minn. — both scored in the game's opening three minutes.
Laura Mueller (St. Paul, Minn.) got the Cardinals within one, 2-1, when she scored her fourth of the season at the 14:40 mark of the first period, but that was all the offense the Cardinals would muster.
Gustavus' high-octane offense, meanwhile, was just warming up, as the Gusties scored a pair of goals in the first four minutes of the second period, then closed out the scoring with Crandall's second of the game — and fifth of the two-game series — midway through the third period.
"Gustavus is a very good team," said Mannor, whose team heads into the Christmas break with a 2-3-1 MIAC record and a 2-6-2 overall mark. "We hung with them early, but when they got those two quick goals in the second period (Saturday), it kind of took the wind out of our sails a bit. You can't afford to give a team like that a two-goal cushion — it's just way too hard to come back from.
"It would have been great to be able to get a point or two off (Gustavus)," Mannor added. "But at least we can say we never gave up. The fact that we came out today and put together a complete effort for 60 minutes — that's very satisfying."