Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Two down, two to go.

The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team continued its late-season push towards the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs Saturday evening, as the Cardinals got a third-period goal from Adam Gill (Rochester, Minn.) with less than six minutes remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and lift SMU to a 3-2 win over St. Olaf at the SMU Ice Arena.

"That was a great college hockey game — a game that was very similar to (Friday night's)," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team opened its MIAC series against St. Olaf with a 3-2 victory in Northfield, Minn. — a win that snapped a four-year losing streak on the Oles' home ice. "Both games were hard-fought battles. (St. Olaf) did a very good job on their special teams in both games — they killed (penalties) very well and they got a lot of shots on the powerplay.

"But 5-on-5, I thought we had the better (scoring) chances and the guys worked hard and came through in the end."

With the win, the Cardinals' season-high sixth straight, the Cardinals improved to 7-7-0 in the MIAC — and, more importantly, remained just two points behind Bethel for the fifth and final playoff spot.

"I've tried not to get too caught up in any of the (playoff talk)," admitted Olson. "We talked about it at our team meeting (Saturday morning), and I told the guys that this is the time of year that people have a tendency to get caught up in all the different (playoff) scenarios.

"Take (Friday night) as a perfect example," continued Olson. "Hamline beats Bethel, which is a bonus because it brings us two points closer to them, but the bottom line is, we have to take care of our own business and hope that that's enough."

And, if the Cardinals can complete their late-season push with two more wins in their regular season-ending series against Bethel, it will be more than enough.

"Our goal from the start of the season was to be one of those five teams still playing after the regular season came to a close," said Olson. "We've put ourselves in a position to do just that, but there's still a lot of work to be done."

The Cardinals certainly had their work cut out for themselves against the Oles on Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Karl Reinke (Duluth, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board with his second of the year two minutes into the second period. Back-to-back goals by the Oles' Ted Bickel — the first on a powerplay — gave St. Olaf a 2-1 lead.

Tim McNamara (Hastings, Minn.), who collected the Cardinals' first goal in Friday's 3-2 win, pulled SMU even with his eighth of the season with just 2:35 remaining in the second period.

The Cardinals finally got the break they were looking for late in the third as Gill picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and broke in alone on St. Olaf goalie Dan Kehler. Gill slipped the puck between the pads of Kehler for his 13th goal of the season and iced the Cardinals' win.

"Everyone is playing with so much confidence right now," said Olson, whose team will travel to Bethel next Friday, before hosting the Royals in the rematch on Saturday. "I think everyone is finally starting to understand what it takes to win — they are coming out and competing from start to finish.

"And in this league, if you are going to be successful, that's exactly what you have to do."