No. 15 Saint John's hockey hosts Hamline for a 7 p.m. game this Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. – Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats/Live Video

STUDENT BUSES FOR SATURDAY NIGHT: Thanks to the SJU Senate, buses will be available for CSB/SJU students Saturday night. The bus departs the SJU Abbey Bell Banner at 6:15 p.m., followed by a 6:30 p.m. pickup from CSB's HCC.

ST. CLOUD HOCKEY YOUTH NIGHT: All St. Cloud-area mite hockey players, and their parents, gain free admittance to Saturday night's game. Players need to wear their mite hockey jersey or St. Cloud Youth Hockey apparel. 

RETURN GAME MOVED TO JANUARY: As noted earlier this week, the Johnnies' game at Hamline, which was originally scheduled for tonight, has been moved to Tuesday, Jan. 16, at the new TRIA Rink at Treasure Island Center in St. Paul. The TRIA Rink, which opens in December, is the official practice facility of the Minnesota Wild and will serve as the Pipers' home rink starting in January. A scheduling conflict with Oscar Johnson Arena, HU's current home facility, forced the schedule change.

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (5-0, 1-0 MIAC) opened its conference schedule with a 4-2 win over Bethel Tuesday night (Nov. 7) in St. Cloud. SJU out-shot the Royals 41-27 and broke open a 2-1 game with a pair of third-period goals. Four different Johnnies scored their first goal of the season: senior forward Tyler Dunagan (Maple Grove, Minn.), junior forward Robb Stautz (Roseville, Minn.), freshman defenseman Jake Dittel (St. Paul, Minn.) and junior defenseman Sean Lang (Apple Valley, Minn.). Sophomore goaltender Andrew Lindgren (Minneapolis, Minn.) made 25 saves to improve to 3-0 on the year (7-4-2 in career). 

TRAILING, BUT NOT FOR LONG: Bethel found the back of the net first Tuesday night, 1:07 into the second period. It was the first time SJU had trailed all season, snapping a streak of 261:07. The deficit did not last long for Johnnies, however, as Dunagan tied it at 1-1 with his 15th career goal 2:10 later. 

THIRD-PERIOD GOALS: The Johnnies have out-scored the opposition 9-2 in the third period so far this season. That shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, considering SJU has out-scored its opponents 155-109 in the third period over the past five seasons.

HOT HEPP: Sophomore forward Brady Heppner (Crookston, Minn.) is enjoying a hot start to the 2017-18 season with nine points (3g/6a) in the first five games. He has a point in four of the five games this season. Heppner scored two goals in the Johnnies' season-opening, 5-1 victory Oct. 27 over Bethel on Oct. 27 and dished out two assists twice, Nov. 3 at Wisconsin-River Falls and Nov. 7 vs. Bethel. He opened the scoring with his first career power-play goal in SJU's 4-1 win Nov. 4 at Wisconsin-Stout. 

STATISTICAL STANDOUTS: SJU continues to boast a number of statistics this season. Freshman goaltender Mac Berglove (Elk River, Minn.) currently leads NCAA Division III in two categories, save percentage (.983) and GAA (0.50). Heppner is tied for second for points with nine, while he and classmate Kyle Wagner (St. Francis, Minn.) are tied for fifth with six assists. As a team, SJU is fourth in team defense (1.20 gpg.), sixth in scoring margin (+2.80) and ninth in penalty kill (90.3 percent, 28-for-31).

SCORING BALANCE CONTINUES: The Johnnies scoring depth has been a lesson of balance so far this season, as 14 Johnnies have scored a goal and a total of 19 have at least one point. All eight of the Johnnies' power-play goals have come from different players, as well as all five game-winning goals. 

FACEOFF CIRCLE: The Johnnies' success is also present in the faceoff circle, where they have won 63.0 percent (182 of 289) of their draws so far this season. Wagner leads the team at 73.1 percent (38-for-52). 

A LOOK AT THE PIPERS: Hamline (2-2, 0-0 MIAC) opens conference play Saturday night after experiencing a roller coaster of a weekend in Wisconsin. The Pipers upset then-No. 3/4 Wisconsin-Stevens Point 2-1 last Friday (Nov. 3), but dropped a 7-0 decision the following night at then-No. 13 Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Junior forward Mitch McPherson leads the team with four points and three goals, all of which were scored on the power play. Junior goaltender Justin Quale is 2-2 with a 3.24 GAA and a .892 save percentage. HU, and its opponents, have the same success rate on the power play: 20.8 percent (5-for-24).

LAST YEAR'S SERIES: Hamline and Saint John's split last years' series, with each team winning on their home ice. SJU won the first game 4-2 on Nov. 17 at the HBNHC. Wagner opened the scoring 10:39 into the second period, but Brandon Wahlin soon tied it up for the Pipers. Senior Sam Valerius (Maple Grove, Minn.) scored the tie-breaker with 23 seconds remaining in the period and Stautz added two goals in the third period to seal the win. 

Hamline rebounded quickly, scoring a 5-2 victory the next night at Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul. The Pipers scored two power-play goals in the first 10:40 of the game en route to a 4-0 lead. Juniors Matt Colford (Champlin, Minn.) and Evan Okeley (Carmel, Ind.) scored at the 9:08 and 15:10 marks, respectively, of the second period. 

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies lead the series with a 50-20-5 record since the 1984-85 season, including a 12-7-2 record under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller. SJU has won five of the last six meetings at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center and nine of the last 11 overall.