WINONA, Minn. — On paper, it looked like it would be an easy, two-point win for the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team.

After all, the Cardinals entered Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline having won two straight, while the Pipers had won just once in six conference games.

SMU got its two points — but it was anything but easy.

The Cardinals needed a goal by Matt Staehely (Shorewood, Ill.) — his third of the game — 1:02 into overtime to beat the Pipers 5-4 at the SMU Ice Arena Friday.

"We did not play very well, especially early on," said SMU coach Don Olson. "We picked it up a bit after the first period, but I thought we were a little sluggish tonight."

Saint Mary's got off to a slow start as Matt Buckley put the Pipers on the board early, breaking through the Cardinals defense and flip the puck over SMU goalie Dan Smith (Rochester, Minn.).

Five minutes later, the Cardinals answered when senior forward Cullum Buetow-Staples (Arden Hills, Minn.) batted in a rebound for his first goal of the season. Staehely then netted the first of his three goals to give SMU a 2-1 edge heading into the locker room at the end of the first period.

Hamline pulled even, 2-2 on a Steven Festler tally early in the second period, but the Cardinals regained the lead when Staehely netted his second of the game two minutes later.

The Pipers once again pulled even as Buckley scored his second goal of the game off of a Cardinal turnover.

Hamline took its first lead of the game early in the third period, but Mike Christensen (Detroit Lakes, Minn.) knocked a David Gross (Grasston, Minn.) rebound in to tie the game at 4-4.

With only 4:40 remaining in the third period, Cardinal junior Adam Gill (Rochester, Minn.) was checked from behind and the Cardinals went on a five-minute power play. The Cardinals were unable to convert in the third period, but they needed only 1:02 of overtime to score the game-winning power play goal. Staehely slipped the puck between the Pipers goalie's legs to pick up the hat trick and the victory for the Cardinals.

"It's nice to get the win," said Olson. "Sometimes you need to get through games like this — games in which you don't play particularly well, but still find a way to win. And that's exactly what we did tonight."