Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — It took 22 games, but the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team finally put together its first three-game winning streak of the season.

And the Cardinals made it look easy.

SMU, behind the two-goal effort of John Paul (St. Paul, Minn.) jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead and never looked back, as the Cardinals rolled to a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Hamline Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena.

"It was a good win for us," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team has now scored four goals in each of its last three games, outscoring their opponents 12-5 during the three-game winning streak. "I thought we played a pretty solid game, we generated a lot of good opportunities, and got the job done."

With the win, SMU remains in the thick of the MIAC playoff chase, as the Cardinals improved to 5-7-1 in the conference and 9-12-1 overall.

The Cardinals held the upper hand from start to finish against the Pipers, outshooting Hamline 13-7 in each of the first two periods. Paul and Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) netted first-period goals for SMU, while the Cardinals' Travis VanDynHoven (River Falls, Wis.) and Hamline's Mike Forconi traded second-period goals to give SMU a 3-1 lead heading into the final period.

"I think there's a natural tendency, no matter who you are, that when you get up 2-0 or 3-0, when you are outshooting a team (26-14), to let up a bit — and that's what we did," said Olson. "We were dominating play in those first two periods, but the score was still only 3-1.

"We seem to be missing that killer instinct — as lopsided as the final stats were, the game was still in doubt heading into the third period."

Paul put any fears of a third-period Hamline comeback to rest, netting his second of the game and seventh of the season with just under four minutes remaining.

'"I think more than anything, we gave (Hamline) too much confidence heading into (Saturday's rematch)," continued Olson, whose team travels to St. Paul, Minn., to complete the two-game MIAC series vs. the Pipers Saturday. "We've got to come out (Saturday) with the same intensity we did tonight — and then we've got to maintain that effort for 60 minutes."