Game Summary

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — When it comes to facing Augsburg, one number has stood out for the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team — one.

In their first two meetings this year, the Cardinals scored one goal in each game — a 1-1 tie and a 3-1 loss.

In their last two playoff meetings, both games were decided by one goal, with the losing team scoring once — a 2-1 SMU win in 2003 and a 2-1 Augsburg win in 2004.

In the all-time series between the two teams, SMU holds a one game advantage (8-7-2).

And Tuesday's MIAC playoff opener was no different.

For the first two periods, that is.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, Jenn Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) paid attention i n math class when she was younger, as the SMU freshman added one (goal) and one (goal) to make two (goals) in leading the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory over the Auggies.

After falling behind 1-0 on Carrie Velenchenko's first-period goal, the Cardinals erupted for 19 second-period shots — including Shire's two goals — to take a 2-1 advantage into the third period.

Shire pulled the Cardinals even with her first goal eight minutes into the second period, then, two minutes after goalie Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) robbed Augsburg's Stacy Anderson with a sprawling save on a breakaway, Shire gave SMU the lead for good, banging home a rebound off a shot from Rachel Harrison (Racine, Wis.) at the 18:17 mark.

From there, it was Jung who put the Cardinals in her shoulders, as the SMU goalie stopped all 17 third-period shots she faced. The Cardinal, meanwhile, managed just nine shots in the game's final 20 minutes, but got the period's lone goal as Madeline Loftus (Parsippany, N.J.) gave SMU some breathing room with her fourth goal of the season with less than three minutes remaining in regulation.

With the win, the Cardinals (11-12-3 overall) move on to play regular-season champion Gustavus, a team which blanked SMU twice during their two regular-season meetings, winning 4-0 and 6-0, on Thursday in St. Peter, Minn.