Box Score Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University women's hockey coach Terry Mannor knew that his team would need to be perfect if they were to have any chance against third-ranked Gustavus Friday evening.

After all, the Gusties stepped onto the ice with a perfect 8-0-0 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record, and had posted an 11-game unbeaten streak (10-0-1) since opening the season with a 3-2 loss to UW-River Falls.

For the first 20 minutes, the Cardinals were as close to perfection as you could get — and they had the numbers to prove it.

Thanks to goals by Jessica Ribish (Elm Grove, Wis.) and Madeline Loftus (Parsippany, N.J.), SMU jumped out to a 2-0 advantage — marking just the third time all season that Gustavus trailed at any point, and ust the second time the Gusties' trailed by more than one goal.

A late first-period goal by GAC's Mari Gunderson, however, seemed to shift the momentum — and once the Gusties got rolling, they were tough to stop.

Gustavus scored the only goal of the second period, then added two more in the third — outshooting the Cardinals 43-9 over those final two periods — en route to a 4-2 victory at the SMU Ice Arena.

"(Gustavus) is a very skilled team — but they can be beaten," said SMU coach Terry Mannor. "It would take a near-perfect performance, but I think we showed early on tonight that they are not invincible.

"I think they came in here taking us a little lightly and we really gave them a scare early on," said Mannor, whose team could have easily been up 4-0 in the first, had they converted on the two first-period breakaways. "That goal late in the first period kind of brought (GAC) to life, and once they got rolling, they were tough."

Ribish got the Cardinals on the board at 4:10 of the first period, banging a Loftus rebound past GAC goalie Amanda Rosequist. Loftus then made it 2-0 with a rebound goal of her own with less than four minutes remaining in the period, only to have Gunderson answer two minutes later, cutting SMU's lead to 2-1 heading into the second period.

The Gusties dominated periods 2 and 3, outshooting SMU 21-4 in the second — holding the Cardinals without a shot through the first 10 minutes — and 22-5 in the third in running their unbeaten streak to 12 games.

"I'm very happy with our performance — this team continues to improve every time they step on the ice," said Mannor, who got a 53-save performance from junior goalie Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.). "They've worked hard and have stayed positive — and as a coach, that's all I can ask.

"It would have been nice to come out of this with a win, but I certainly can't fault the effort."