WINONA, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team proved anything in its Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference-opening series, it's that the Cardinals can play with anyone in the conference.

Now all they have to do is prove they can beat anyone in the conference.

For the second game in a row, the Cardinals held a 2-1 lead over nationally ranked St. Thomas — this time clinging to that one-goal advantage with less than five minutes remaining in regulation.

Two SMU penalties — and two St. Thomas power plays — however, turned that one-goal lead into a one-goal loss, as the Tommies rallied to beat SMU 3-2 Saturday and complete the conference sweep.

"It's disappointing, because we played well enough to win," said SMU coach Terry Mannor, whose team saw its 2-1 lead on Friday disappear during a seven-goal UST run that propelled the Tommies to an 8-3 victory. "We did everything we could to come away with a win, but two penalties in the end cost us. I talked to their coaches after the game and they said we deserved to win. But the bottom line is, whether they deserved it or not, they left our building with the two points."

The Cardinals got on the board first as Jill Rhody (St. Paul, Minn.) netted her second goal in as many nights at the 7:23 mark of the first period. The Tommies pulled even midway through the second period on a goal by Maureen Hardwick, but SMU again regained the lead as Jenna Roland (Boyne City, Mich.) tallied her second of the season three minutes into the third period.

SMU maintained that one-goal lead — partly on the play of goalie Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.), who stopped 39 UST shots — until the 15:07 mark, when Jackie Carroll scored her fourth goal in two nights vs. SMU.

Less than three minutes later, the Tommies got the game-winner, as Melanie Drake tallied UST's second straight powerplay goal to give the Tommies the win.

"These were two tough losses," said Mannor, whose team dropped its fourth straight — all against nationally ranked opponents — since opening the season with a 5-1 win over UW-Eau Claire. "But I am also very proud of the progress we've made. I think we proved to ourselves, and to a lot of other people, that we are capable of playing with the top teams in the conference.

"Now we need to find a way to get some wins for our efforts."