Last season, St. Mary’s showed signs of promise in the final weeks of the season, going 7-1-0 in the final eight games of the season. That run included a pair of wins over St. Olaf and one over Bethel.
If the Cardinals are going to be the “dark horse” St. Thomas coach Terry Skrypek predicts them to be, they’re going to have to find a replacement for goaltender Curtis Nosal. Nosal was a meager 8-9-0 last season, but his numbers might reflect better on his ability. He recorded two shutouts and had a GAA of 2.97 and .916 save percentage. In conference play, he had a league-best .920 save percentage and the fifth-best GAA at 2.82.
St. Mary’s has a pair of senior net-minders on its roster; Nick Berra has the most experience, playing in 10 games in his career including eight last season. He was 1-5-1 a year ago with a 5.86 GAA and a .840 save percentage. The other senior, Andy Nadeau, has played just six minutes in his career.
The Cardinals lose a number of scoring threats from a year ago, but do return their top scorer, junior forward Adam Gill (15-13-28). St. Mary’s is going need to find new scoring options in a hurry if they want to remain competitive.
