Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team learned first-hand Saturday evening that, when it comes to St. Norbert, the numbers don't lie:

* Eighty-four: The number of weeks in the last 85 that St. Norbert has been ranked in the top four of the USCHO.com national poll.

* Ninety: The number of consecutive weeks in which the Green Knights have been nationally ranked.

* 52-6-3: St. Norbert's all-time record vs. MIAC opponents since 1993.

* 233-0-6: The Green Knights' 11-year unbeaten streak when leading after two periods.

* 8, 4, 4, 8: The margin of victory in St. Norbert's previous four wins vs. the Cardinals (9-1, 5-1, 5-1, 11-3).

In other words, the Green Knights are good — very good.

And after watching what St. Norbert put his Cardinals through for 60 minutes Saturday evening, SMU coach Don Olson isn't arguing.

"When you watch (St. Norbert) play, it's pretty easy to see why they are the second-best team in the nation over the last 10 years," said Olson, whose team scored early — but the Green Knights scored often — as St. Norbert rolled to a 7-2 nonconference win at the SMU Ice Arena. "They are talented, very skilled, disciplined … you name it, they're good at it."

Despite staring at a 13-7 deficit in shots during the opening 20 minutes, it was the Cardinals who had the lone first-period goal, as Adam Gill (Rochester, Minn.) beat St. Norbert goalie Kyle Jones with a wrist shot at 18:36.

Gill's goal may have given the Cardinals' the momentum heading into the locker room after one period, but it also worked as a wake-up call for the Green Knights, who scored four times in the second period, then added three more in the final stanza en route to their second straight seven-goal outing of the season.

"I can't complain about the effort we put forth — we played with a lot of energy, and we worked extremely hard," said Olson, whose team notched its first win of the season on Friday, beating Lake Forest 4-2. "We had our share of chances tonight, we just missed on too many of them. Our shots seemed to just miss their target, while (St. Norbert's) always seemed to be right on.

"We had our share of breakdowns, and a team like St. Norbert is going to make you pay for them," Olson added. "Hopefully we learned a thing or two tonight."