MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Despite losing 7-2, Saint Mary's University men's hockey coach Don Olson felt pretty good about the way his team played against No. 2-ranked St. Norbert last Saturday.
A repeat performance like that in the Cardinals' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Augsburg would be just what the doctor ordered.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals' prescription never got filled, as Augsburg scored the game's first goal with less than one second remaining in the opening period and went on to beat SMU 4-2.
"I don't know what it was, but we did not come to play tonight," said Olson, whose team has now lost two straight. "Through our first four games we had played with a lot of energy and we worked very hard — but tonight, there was none of that.
"We were flat from the get-go, and it cost us."
Critter Nagurski got the Auggies on the board with less than a second to go in the opening period, and the Auggies quickly pushed that lead to 3-0 with back-to-back goals four minutes apart early in the second period.
Anthony Bohn (Spring Hill, Fla.) netted SMU's first goal with five minutes remaining, but the Auggies quickly regained their three-goal cushion a minute later as Brad May scored his second of the season.
Eric Dahl (St. Cloud, Minn.) collected his first collegiate goal late in the third period, but it was too little, too late, as SMU fell for the fourth time in five games.
"Hopefully this game was a bit of a wake-up call," said Olson. "We can't afford to come out and go through the motions like we did tonight. We have to play with a high level of energy — and we have to outwork our opponents each and every night if we hope to be successful."
