DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team goes out of conference to close out the 2016 calendar year this weekend when it travels to face Gustavus Adolphus College on Friday night and then hosts Saint John's University Saturday night.
Where:
Friday
Lund Arena – St. Peter, Minn.
Saturday
Mars Lakeview Arena – Duluth, Minn.
When:
Friday at Gustavus – 7 p.m.
Saturday vs. Saint John's – 7 p.m.
Live Video Friday: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/gac/
Live Stats Friday: https://gustavus.edu/athletics/hky/LIVE/xlive.htm
Live Audio Friday: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
Live Video/Stats Saturday: http://www.csssaints.com/ssn
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSsaints
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/css.saints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 4-5-0, 3-3-0 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
Last Action: The Saints were swept by Marian University (Wis.) last weekend in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin … CSS allowed three first period goals and three power-play goals in Friday night's 4-3 loss … CSS then surrendered two Marian goals following a 2-2 first period to fall to the Sabres 4-2 on Saturday … It was the second time in the past three seasons the Saints were swept at Marian.
Heading into the New Year Below .500: The Saints have not had a winning percentage below .500 on January 1 since the 2012-13 season … In the
Mark Wick era it has happened four times, but the Saints will try to avoid a fifth-time this season.
PK Struggles: St. Scholastica has allowed 10 power-play goals on 40 opportunities thus far … CSS allowed a total of 14 power-play goals all of last season … The Saints have also given three power-play goals in game twice this season … Prior to this year, the last time CSS allowed three power-play goals in a game was the regular season finale of the 2012-13 season … The last time it occurred twice in a year was the 2007-08 season … However, the Saints are the least penalized team in the conference, averaging only 12 penalty minutes per game.
Who's Streaking: Senior forward
Derek Sutliffe (Las Vegas, Nev./Odyssey Charter School (Langley Rivermen-BCHL) ) has recorded at least one point in five straight games and had an assist in both games last weekend … Fellow senior forward
Brandon Millin (Port Moody, British Columbia/Heritage Woods HS (Notre Dame Hounds-SJHL) ) has at least one point in the last three games and six points overall during that span.
Upcoming Opponents
Gustavus Adolphus Gusties
Record: 1-7-2, 0-5-1 MIAC
The Gusties enter the weekend on an eight-game winless streak and are coming off a tie against Saint John's on Saturday … Their lone win came against St. Olaf College in the second game of the season, but the Gusties have also tied defending national champion University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point … Junior defenseman Jake Bushey leads the team with seven assists and eight points … Sophomore forward Evan Erickson has a team-best four goals … Gustavus is only scoring 1.70 goals per game, fewest in the MIAC … Senior Erik Johnson and sophomore Chris Amsden have split time between the pipes … Both are above a .900 save percentage and below a 2.85 goals-against-average.
Saint John's Johnnies
Record: 6-4-2, 3-2-1 MIAC
The Johnnies will be idle on Friday night before traveling up to Duluth to face the Saints on Saturday … Saint John's is unbeaten in its last three games and is 3-1-0 at home on the year, but is only 1-3-2 in true road games … Junior forward Sam Valerius and sophomore forward Matt Colford each have 13 points to lead the squad … Valerius has a team-high six goals, while Colford has a team-best nine assists … Freshman defenseman Cole Souto leads the MIAC with eight points on the power-play … The Johnnies have the third-best power-play unit in NCAA Division III, converting 30 percent of their opportunities … In goal, Senior Tyler Nelson and freshman Andrew Lindgren have split time with Lindgren putting up slightly better numbers with a .912 save percentage and a 2.27 goals-against-average … Saint John's has outscored teams by 11 goals in the third period this season and are 5-1-1 when it scores the first goal.
Series Records:
-Gustavus leads CSS 20-16-1
(Last Meeting: 4-1 CSS – 12/11/2015)
-Saint John's leads CSS 15-14-1
(Last Meeting: 7-2 SJU – 12/12/2015)
Series Histories: The Saints defeated Gustavus Adolphus 4-1 last December at Mars Lakeview Arena, ending a three-game winless streak against the Gusties … The last time the two teams met in St. Peter, CSS played its first-ever scoreless tie in January of 2015 … The Saints have not won back-to-back games against the Gusties since 2003-04 /// Saint John's cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Saints last December in St. Cloud … The seven goals allowed were the most since February of 2013 … Prior to that, each of the previous three meetings were decided by one goal, two of which in the Saints' favor.
Looking Ahead: The Saints are off until after the New Year and will be at home for a two-game Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) series against Finlandia University (Mich.) on January 6 and 7.
