DULUTH, Minn. (csssaints.com) – A home Harris Cup quarterfinal playoff series will be on the line for the St. Scholastica men's hockey team this weekend when it faces Marian University (Wis.) to close out the regular season.
 
Where:
Blue Line Family Ice Center – Fond du Lac, Wis.
 
When:
Friday at 7 p.m.
Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
 
Watch/Stats: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/marianwi/
 
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St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 11-9-3, 8-6-2 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
 
The Saints picked up a critical series split with seventh-ranked St. Norbert College last weekend, winning Friday night 3-1 behind a career-high 42 saves by Tyler Bruggeman (North Mankato, Minn./Mankato West HS (Austin-NAHL) ) … The Green Knights responded on Saturday by scoring late in regulation to defeat the Saints 4-3.
 
Wick on Leave: Head Coach Mark Wick is on an indefinite medical leave of absence from the program … Assistant Coach Ben Gordon is assuming the head coaching duties in the interim … Coach Wick is the winningest coach in program history with 145 career victories.
 
Playoff Positioning: The Saints remain tied for fourth with the Milwaukee School of Engineering … CSS owns the tiebreaker with MSOE so a St. Scholastica win and MSOE loss this weekend will give the Saints the No. 4 seed … MSOE faces Concordia (Wis.) in a home-and-home series … Marian, who is in sixth place can climb to the No. 4 seed with a sweep of the Saints.
 
Redemption: Sophomore defenseman Kyle Beaulieu (White Rock, British Columbia/Earl Marriott (St. Norbert)) scored his first goal as a Saint and his first collegiately in Friday's win over St. Norbert … Beaulieu played for the Green Knights during the 2012-13 season and recorded two assists in 22 games.
 
Simpson's Solid Weekend: Freshman forward Luke Simpson (Canmore, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Canmore-AJHL) ) had three points over the weekend vs. St. Norbert … Simpson had an assist in each game and added a goal on Saturday … Simpson has recorded at least one point in 14 games this season … He is fourth in the NCHA amongst freshmen with 23 points.
 
Light the Lamp: The Saints have been shut out three times this season, which is the most since the 2007-08 season … CSS was last shut out four times in a season in 2004-05.
 
Series History: CSS leads 9-2-0
 
Last Season: The Saints split with the Sabres in the regular season finale at Mars Lakeview Arena … Marian won game one 3-1, but the Saints took game two 3-1 … Dave Williams (Okotoks, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (Waywayseecappo-MJHL) ) had a goal and an assist in the series … This will be the first two-game series for the Saints at Marian.
 
 
Marian University Sabres
Record: 11-11-1, 7-8-1 NCHA
 
The Sabres come in hot, unbeaten in their last six games, which is tied for the longest streak in NCAA Division III … Marian has not lost since January 17 at Lake Forest College (Ill.) … The Sabres are coming off a sweep of Finlandia University (Mich.) last weekend … Not only does Marian have a .500 winning percentage overall, but they are .500 in one-goal games (3-3), two-goal games (3-3) and games decided by three or more goals (5-5) … Senior forward Brian Berger leads the team with 11 goals and 12 assists for 23 points … Freshman goaltender Mike Gudmandson has seen about two-thirds of the action this season and a .920 save percentage with seven of the 11 victories … The Sabres have outscored teams in the second period 30-22, but are being outscored by a combined 10 goals in the first and third periods.