Game Summary

ST. PETER, Minn. — Just when the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team figured it had patched up all the holes and righted their sinking ship, the Cardinals sprung another leak.

After taking an important step forward by picking up a hard-earned, streak-snapping 4-3 victory Friday — a win that not only ended a six-game losing streak, but also gave SMU's playoff hopes a much-needed boost — the Cardinals took a giant step backwards, giving up two goals in the first period and three more in the second en route to a 5-2 loss to Gustavus Saturday evening.

"We played so well (on Friday)," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team got a goal from Lenny Hofmann (Sartell, Minn.) midway through the third period en route to Friday's 4-3 triumph. "I really thought maybe that win would be the one to get us back on track.

"But (Saturday), we didn't come out with the same intensity, and that hurt us."

The Gusties got on the board first Saturday, as Brian Merchant scored a power-play goal midway through the opening period. The lead was short-lived, however, as Nick Meeker (Rochester, Minn.) evened the score at 1-1 16 seconds later. Gustavus regained the lead on the first of Tom Awaijane's two goals at the 14:56 mark to take a 2-1 lead into the locker room after the first period.

"We played a decent first period," said Olson, whose team held a 10-8 advantage in shots on goal. "But from then, we just stopped playing — we really became unraveled in the second period, and it cost us."

The Gusties scored three unanswered in the second period to take a commanding 5-1 advantage before Chris Wickersham (St. Louis Park, Minn.) closed out the scoring with 11 seconds remaining in the third period.

"This was a tough loss," said Olson. "It's frustrating, because we played so well (Friday). We've got to find a way to play like that all the time. We can't be so up and down."