Game Summary

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team spotted Lake Forest a 2-0 advantage, but that's when the Cardinals decided, enough was enough.

SMU, led by sophomore Emily Kearns (Hopkins, Minn.), erupted for eight unanswered goals — including seven in the second period — as the Cardinals posted their fifth straight win, beating the Foresters 8-2 in a nonconference game Tuesday evening.

Lake Forest's Michelle Heifel scored a powerplay goal early in the first period, and the Forester's Robyn Slater pushed that advantage to 2-0 just 1:25 into the second period.

Slater's goal not only gave Lake Forest a two-goal cushion — but it also woke up an angry bunch of Cardinals.

And, as Lake Forest learned firsthand, you don't want to do that.

Kelly O'Neil (Richfield, Minn.) got the SMU offensive avalanche rolling at the 2:41 mark of the second period. And by the time the horn sounded to end the second period, Kearns had scored three times — pushing her team-leading total to 21 — and Tasa Kostel (Rochester, Minn.), Jaimie Mussehl (South St. Paul, Minn.) and Missy Westergren (Lonsdale, Minn.) and also found the back of the net, as SMU transformed that 2-0 deficit into a 7-2 advantage.

Mussehl tallied her second of the game midway through the third period as SMU put together its third-highest offensive output of the season.