Saint John's hockey opens a home-and-home series with Saint Mary's at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, in Winona and hosts the Cardinals at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

LIVE COVERAGE
-Thursday, Feb. 1, in Winona: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video
-Saturday, Feb. 3, in St. Cloud: Listen Live (WBHR-660 AM) | Live Stats | Live Video

A LOOK AT THE JOHNNIES: Saint John's (8-9-4, 5-6-1 MIAC) settled for a split with Augsburg – the teams' fifth-straight in the regular-season series – last weekend.

at Saint John's 4, Augsburg 3 – Jan. 25
SJU scored a pair of third-period goals – 15 seconds apart – in a 4-3 win last Thursday at the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.

Junior forward Garrett Smith (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tied the game for SJU at 3-3 with 8:51 remaining in regulation when a shot from freshman defenseman Parker Gnos (Excelsior, Minn.) glanced off him in front of the net. 

Junior forward Jackson Sabo (Rosemount, Minn.) intercepted an errant pass in the Auggies' own zone and unleashed a wrister in the slot for what proved to be the game-winning goal 15 seconds later. The tally was Sabo's first of the season and his second game-winning goal in the last three games against Augsburg. He tallied the game-winner during the 3-on-3 overtime in SJU's 5-4 victory nearly one year to the date – Jan. 27, 2023 – outdoors as part of Hockey Day MN in White Bear Township.

The Auggies' nearly tied the game with 3:30 to play, but sophomore goaltender Jon Howe (Chanhassen, Minn.) made a save and Smith blocked a trio of shots on the rebound. The visitors played the final 2:21 with the goaltender pulled and an extra skater on the ice but failed to record a shot on goal the rest of the way.

An all-Edina scoring connection gave the Johnnies a 1-0 lead 6:39 into the game when freshman forward Jackson Borst found Lewis Crosby for a one-timer in front of the net. The goal was Crosby's second of the season and the 26th of his SJU career. Co-captain Max Borst provided the second assist.

The lead lasted only 1:38, however, as Nick Catalano tied the game at the 8:17 mark and Landon Parker gave Augsburg a 2-1 lead on a breakaway goal with 5:06 left in the first period.

Junior forward Matt DeRosa (Alpharetta, Ga.) tied the game at 2-2 with his team-leading eighth goal of the season, on the power-play, when he deflected a shot from the right point from sophomore defenseman Conner Couet (St. Michael, Minn.) 7:58 into the second period. Erik Palmqvist, however, gave the lead back to Augsburg with his team-leading seventh goal of the season with 6:19 remaining in the second.

Howe made 24 saves to improve to 5-3-2 in net this season. The Johnnies posted a 42-27 advantage in shots, including a 17-5 margin in the second period, and finished 1-for-2 on the power play to the Auggies' 0-for-2 performance.

at Augsburg 2, Saint John's 1 – Jan. 26
Erik Palmqvist scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for Augsburg when he skated in on net and collided with junior goaltender Bailey Huber (Mahtomedi, Minn.) in the crease with 7:15 remaining in regulation. Huber finished with 23 saves as SJU registered a 36-25 shot advantage in the game.

Sophomore defenseman Mason Campbell (Rosemount, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a quick 1-0 lead with his third goal of the season just 22 seconds into the game. Crosby intercepted an Augsburg pass, skated in on net and crossed a one-timer to Max Borst, who was denied on his shot attempt. The rebound, however, squirted up the slot to Campbell for the ninth goal of his career.

The goal was the Johnnies' fastest since Nov. 7, 2021 (16 seconds into the game from Max Borst against the Milwaukee School of Engineering) and third scored in the game's first 40 seconds this season, all in the month of January: Max Borst 39 seconds into the 3-2 win vs. Gustavus Adolphus on Jan. 5 and sophomore forward Justin Thompson (Woodbury, Minn.) 26 seconds into the 2-2 tie vs. Hamline on Jan. 18.

Dylan Schneider tied the game 6:20 after Campbell's tally for Augsburg on its first shot on goal.

SJU posted a 16-4 advantage in shots in the first period, but the margin shifted to 17-11 in favor of the Auggies in the second, to no avail for either team.

STAT COMPARISONS: SJU is currently third in the MIAC on the penalty kill in conference play, while the Cardinals are last on both the power play and penalty kill against league competition. 

Scoring Offense
6. SJU, 2.75 gpg. (2.52 overall)
9. SMU, 1.90 gpg. (2.37 overall)

Scoring Defense
4. SJU, 2.58 gpg. (2.38 overall)
6. SMU, 3.00 gpg. (3.84 overall)

Power Play
8. SJU, 12.8 percent/5-for-39 (9.6 percent/7-for-73)
9. SMU, 5.9 percent/2-for-34 (16.7 percent/13-for-78)

Penalty Kill
3. SJU, 88.4 percent/38-for-43 (88.3 percent/68-for-77 *No. 12 in Division III)
9. SMU, 75.0 percent/27-for-36 (72.5 percent/50-for-69)

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS: Saint Mary's (6-11-2, 4-5-1 MIAC) split a pair of tightly contested games against Bethel last weekend (Jan. 26 and 27). Bethel struck first in game one, scoring late in the first period, but Saint Mary's answered just 2:13 seconds later with a goal from freshman defenseman Clay Allen. The game would remain deadlocked at one for the rest of the game until junior defenseman Callahan Nauss ended the game just 49 seconds into overtime for the 2-1, home win. In game two, goals from senior forwards Bud Winter and Nikita Sheberov were not enough as Saint Mary's took a 3-2 loss in Blaine for the series split. The Cardinals are led by Winter, who has 15 points (8g/7a) on the season, and sophomore forward Colin Tushie, the other Cardinal in double digits with 13 points (8g/5a). Junior goaltender A.J. Ruskowski played in both games last weekend, saving 62 of 66 shots (.939). He is 2-5 with a .896 save percentage and a 3.79 GAA in eight games this season (seven starts). Junior goaltender Matt Sankner is 4-6-2 with an .892 save percentage and a 3.48 GAA in 13 games (12 starts). 

LAST SEASON: The Johnnies and Cardinals split their regular-season series for the second-straight year last February.

at Saint John's 2, Saint Mary's 0 – Feb. 2, 2023
Huber stopped all 31 shots for his second shutout of the season and improved his record to 10-3-2 (7-2-1 MIAC). The effort was not easy, however. Huber and the Johnnies killed off six minutes on the penalty kill, over a 6:28 span in the third period, including 36 seconds of a 5-on-3 for the Cardinals. In addition to that, SMU played the final 3:07 of regulation with the goaltender pulled. The visitors used the advantage for a 15-6 shot margin, but could not score.

Max Borst gave SJU an early 1-0 lead on a rebound goal, his eighth tally of the season, off a shot on goal from Sabo, 5:40 into the game.

Sophomore defenseman Michael Spinner (Prior Lake, Minn.) gave the Johnnies a two-goal cushion with his first collegiate goal after forward Jack Johnson '23 found him all alone in front.

at Saint Mary's 7, Saint John's 3 – Feb. 4, 2023
The Johnnies amassed 17 shots on goal with a man advantage but went 0-for-8 on the power play in the loss. To make matters worse, Saint Mary's went 3-for-7 on the power play and SJU's lineup was without four starting forwards – Max Borst, DeRosa, Sabo and Nick Michel '23 – due to injuries suffered in the 2-0 home win two nights before. 

After the Cardinals found the scoreboard first halfway through the first period, SJU gained a 2-1 lead with goals from forward Dan Wieber '23 and sophomore forward Rob Christy (St. Paul, Minn.). SMU, however, scored four-straight goals – including three in the second period – to build a 5-2 lead. A defensive-zone turnover led to the game-tying goal and SMU scored the first of its three power-play tallies 1:22 later.

Spinner cut the deficit to 5-3 with 11:28 left in the third period, but the Cardinals scored two power-play goals 2:02 apart to seal the win. SJU was whistled for five penalties in the third period alone, including two on the same rush to give SMU a 5-on-3 for a full two minutes with 9:17 remaining.

Huber made 25 saves in the loss as SJU outshot SMU, 36-32.

SERIES HISTORY: The Johnnies are 60-31-5 against the Cardinals since the 1981-82 season, including a 23-8-2 record under the direction of head coach Doug Schueller (since 2008-09). SJU has won 33 of the last 45 meetings overall (33-10-2 record), but is only 7-6-1 in the last 14 meetings at the HBNHC. Last season's loss ended the Johnnies' seven-game win streak at SMU Ice Arena (first since 2013).