ST. PAUL, MINN. – After a week of rest and relaxing, the St. Catherine University hockey team is back. The Wildcats will take on the Hamline University Pipers in their final Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) series before Christmas break.

The St. Paul showdown between St. Kate's and Hamline will open at 7:15 p.m. on Friday, when the Pipers host the Wildcats in Oscar Johnson Arena. Game two will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Drake Arena.

Live stats and video will be available for Friday evening's game, while fans who can't attend Saturday can watch online via live stats. Score updates will also be found at St. Kate's official Twitter page (@stkateswildcats).

Here are the five things to know before the weekend series between St. Kate's and Hamline:

1-1 – The Wildcats and Pipers split in their series last season. Hamline won the series opener at Drake Arena, as the visitors beat St. Kate's 3-2 on a late third period goal by Melanie Bartensein. The Wildcats rebounded with a big 2-1 win on Saturday, knocking the Pipers out of playoff contention. Anna Carman (Lutsen, Minn. / Cook County) scored the first goal of the game at 1:44 in the third period, and Laken Muller (Inver Grove Heights, Minn. / Simley) scored the game winner with 21 seconds remaining in overtime.

80 – Hamline currently leads the MIAC in overall penalty minutes, having spent exactly 80 minutes in the box this season. Over half those minutes have come against conference teams, as the Pipers have spent 54 minutes in the penalty box against MIAC opponents.

66 – St. Kate's has also spent a significant amount of time in the penalty box this season. The Wildcats have been called for 33 penalties and amassed 66 penalty minutes so far this season. Forty of those minutes have come against MIAC opponents.


4.33 – Hamline is the top scoring team in the MIAC, averaging 4.33 goals a game this season. More impressively, the Pipers are averaging 5.25 goals against conference opponents this season and has scored 21 goals against MIAC teams in 2017-18.

.926 – While Hamline has been the top scoring team in the MIAC, St. Kate's has been one of the top defensive teams this season. Wildcat goalies Kristen Pechacek (Park Falls, Wis. / Chequamegon) and Bryce Boreen (Park, Minn. / Cottage Grove-Park) have a .926 save percentage against conference opponents this season, which ranks second in the league. They've also made a combined 112 saves versus conference opponents, 83 of which have been made by Pechacek.