DULUTH, Minn. (
csssaints.com) – The St. Scholastica men's hockey team opens postseason play this weekend with the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Harris Cup Quarterfinals on Friday and Saturday at No. 13 Marian University (Wis.).
Where:
Blue Line Family Ice Center – Fond du Lac, Wis.
When:
Friday at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday at 5 p.m.
Live Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/marianwi/
Live Stats Saturday Only: http://www.sidearmstats.com/css/mhockey/
Live CSS Audio Friday: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=117
Live CSS Audio Saturday: http://www.csssaints.com/watch/?Live=119
Social Media:
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/CSSMHockey
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/csssaints
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/csssaints
St. Scholastica Saints
Stats
Record: 15-9-1, 9-8-1 NCHA
Northern Collegiate Hockey Association: Standings | Stats
What You Need to Know about the Saints:
-The Saints were defeated at home by Marian last Friday, but responded with a 4-1 win over Lawrence on Saturday to close the regular season.
-CSS finished with nine home wins for the second straight year.
-The Saints are 8-1-1 in their last 10 NCHA Quarterfinal games.
-CSS has advanced past the quarterfinals each of the last six seasons.
-The quarterfinal format is a two-game series with the advancing team earning three points; If neither team reaches three points, a 20-minute mini-game will take place immediately following game two; If a winner is still not decided, a 20-minute sudden death overtime will take place following the mini-game.
-The Saints have won all three mini-games in has participated in in program history (2015, 2010, 2007).
-Sophomore
Kyle Star (Langley, British, Columbia/Brookswood (Trail Smoke-BCHL)) leads the team with 17 assists and 23 points.
-Star has one point in each of the last three games.
-Sophomore
Davis Ross (Fort Frances, Ontario/Fort Frances HS (Fort Frances-SIJHL)) leads the squad with eight goals.
-CSS has 11 players that have scored at least five goals, the most in the last 30 years.
-The Saints have used the trio of
Forbes Ploszaj (Gilbert, Arizona/Gilbert HS (Aberdeen-NAHL)),
Nick Trenciansky (Vancouver, British Columbia/Holy Cross Regional HS (Kindersley-SJHL)) and
Zane Steeves (Red Deer, Alberta/Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (100 Mile Wranglers-KIJHL)) in goal.
-All three have seen action against Marian this season with Trenciansky and Ploszaj getting the starts.
-The Saints have allowed a power-play goal in six straight games.
-The Saints are 15-4 when they score a power-play goal.
-St. Scholastica is 11-1-1 when it records the first goal and is 8-1 when leading at the first intermission.
-CSS has out-scored teams 33-22 in the third period.
What You Need to Know about Marian:
-The Sabres enter the postseason with an 18-6-1 record and finished 12-6-0 in league play.
-Marian is riding a seven-game win streak with the most goals allowed during the streak coming in both games against CSS.
-Four of Marian's six losses have come at home.
-Senior Hunter Stewart finished second in the league with 34 points and 22 assists.
-Fellow senior Derek Thorogood was second with 15 goals and third with 32 points.
-Sophomore goaltender Hunter Vorva finished third in the conference with a 1.92 goals-against-average and fourth with a .923 save percentage.
-Vorva has four shutouts on the year, which is tied for the second-most in the nation.
-Marian is 15-0-1 when it scores the first goal.
-The Sabres are 17-1-1 when leading or tied at the end of the first period.
-They have out-scored teams 27-14 in the first period and 35-16 in the third period.
-This is the third straight season Marian has hosted the opening round of the NCHA playoffs.
Series Record: CSS leads 10-9
(Last Meeting: 4-2 Marian – 2/9/2018)
Series History: The Sabres swept the regular season matchups against the Saints … Marian has won five straight over the Saints at the Blue Line Family Ice Center … This will be the first postseason meeting between the two programs.
Looking Ahead: The winner of this weekend's series will advance to the NCHA Harris Cup Semifinals against the winner of St. Norbert College (Wis.)/Lawrence University (Wis.) on Saturday, February 24. The semifinal round is only a single-game matchup.
