ST. PAUL, MINN. – The St. Catherine University hockey team got off to a bit of a rough start in Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) play. The Wildcats dropped two close games in their conference opening series versus Concordia College last weekend, losing by scored of 5-3 and 3-1. This weekend, St. Kate's will look to get back on the winning track as it takes on the University of St. Thomas in a home-and-home series this Friday and Saturday.

The Wildcats will hit the road for Friday evening's contest, which is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minnesota. Live stats and video will be available during Friday night's game for fans who cannot travel to see St. Kate's play in person.

Saturday's game is slotted to begin at 1 p.m. at Drake Arena in St. Paul, Minnesota, and live stats will be available for fans who cannot attend the game in person.

Here are the five facts to know before this weekend's big series:

7 – The Wildcats upset the Tommies for the first time in seven years last season, thanks to a 2-1 win at Drake Arena in late January. Currently junior Morgan Tentis (Victoria, Minn. / Chanhassen) scored the opening goal of the game in the first period to give St. Kate's the 1-0 lead. Although St. Thomas answered with the equalizer late in the second, former Wildcat Cassie Thomas scored the game winner in the third to lift St. Kate's to a 2-1 victory.

.978 - Current senior goalie Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) saved 97% of the shots she faced in the Wildcats 2-1 win over the Tommies last season. St. Kate's top goalie was outstanding between the pipes, saving 45 of the 46 shots she faced from St. Thomas.

6^th – Junior forward Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) became just the sixth player in program history to record a hat trick in last week's 5-3 loss to Concordia. Muller scored all three Wildcat goals in the game and currently leads the team and the MIAC in points (4) and goals (3) against conference opponents.

8/9 – The Tommies have been nationally ranked for the majority of the season, and that certainly didn't change after last weekend. St. Thomas was the No. 8 and 9 ranked team in the country in the most recent NCAA and USCHO polls and is one of two teams from the MIAC ranked in the top-10 this season.

243 –Pechacek and St. Thomas goalie Kenzie Torpy have been two of the top goalies in the MIAC this season and have made a combined 243 saves throughout the 2017-18 season. Pechacek currently leads the MIAC in saves, having made 125 through the first three weeks of the season. Torpy is a close second with 118 total saves in 2017-18.