Game Summary
FRIDLEY, Minn. — It had been more than a month since the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team had played its last Minnesota Intercollegiate Atheltic Conference game — a 4-3 victory over St. Olaf.
Fortunately for the Cardinals — and, unfortunately for the rest of the MIAC — SMU picked up right where it left off , getting a pair of goals from Jason Fillipp (Fox River Grove, Ill.) and a 15-save shutout performance from Eric Richardson (Skokie, Ill.) in handing Bethel a 5-0 setback Friday evening.
"I was very pleased with our effort," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team improved its record to 4-0-1 in the MIAC and 9-3-1 overall. "We didn't play all that well in the first period, but we just kept getting stronger and stronger with each shift. By the third period, I felt we were wearing them down and creating some great opportunties."
Colin Emans (Hutchinson, Minn.) got the Cardinal on the board at the 8:06 mark of the first period, taking a feed from Nick Meeker (Rochester, Minn.) and beating Bethel goalie Jeff Hall.
Ryan Stinson (Winona, Minn.) made it 2-0 in the second period, before Fillipp opened a three-goal, third-period offensive onslaught with the first of his two goals midway through the period. By the time the third-period horn sounded, the Cardinals had pelted Hall with 15 shots (to the Royals' 2) and had gotten two goals from Fillipp and a short-handed tally by Eric Thom (Portland, Ore.) to secure the win.
While Hall was peppered with 33 shots in the Bethel net, Richardson faced just 15 in the Cardinal goal. But the senior wasn't about to let any in as he posted his first shutout of the season.
"Eric played a great game and the rest of the players just fed off of that," said Olson. "Anytime you can post a shutout it's an added bonus. Every conference win is crucial, but to come back after such a long (conference) break and play as well as we did, that's very encouraging."
Now all they have to do is turn in a repeat performance when the teams square off again Saturday.
"These guys aren't about to relax or let down," promised Olson. "They a determined, focused group right now. They know how important each game is from here on out and they aren't about to let the opportunity for a win slip away from them."
