Box Score

	vs.
5		2

Game Summary / GameDay Online

WINONA, Minn. — The mission was simple: Win one for Coach F.

Mission accomplished.

The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team, playing with heavy hearts after the death of long-time men's assistant hockey coach Tom Farren late Friday afternoon, dedicated Saturday's performance to their friend and mentor — and they didn't disappoint, as SMU scored the game's first four goals and rolled to a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over Gustavus at the SMU Ice Arena.

"Coach F would have been proud," SMU senior captain Adam Gill (Rochester, Minn.) said in a tear-filled locker room following the game. "This team wasn't about to let him down — we wanted to win this one for him, and we did what we had to do to accomplish that mission."

Farren, a long-time member of the Saint Mary's Athletic Department, died suddenly Friday. He collapsed Friday afternoon while working in the ice arena. Students and staff attempted to revive Tom until emergency medical personnel arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"(Friday) was such a devastating day," said SMU coach Don Olson. "The shock of Tom's passing hit everyone so hard. Tom was such an integral part of the SMU men's hockey program — he was always there for our players, always willing to do whatever needed to be done — and when the players found out about his passing, it really took its toll."

"We met and discussed at length whether we should even play or not," added Olson, whose  "Ultimately, we decided to play the game as scheduled — I think that's what Tom would have wanted us to do."

And Saturday, on their home ice — with several of Farren's children and grandchildren in attendance — the Cardinals paid homage.

"I don't know how the guys did it," Olson admitted. "They wanted to pay tribute to their friend, and the best way for them to do that was to go out and put their best game on the ice.

"How they were able to do it, I don't know — but they certainly did."

SMU had come up empty in their last two games against Gustavus — falling 2-0 in the second game of their two-game series a year ago, then being blanked again Friday night, 6-0 — but once Morgan Shepherd (Brainerd, Minn.) beat GAC goalie Josh Swartout seven minutes into the opening period, it was as if the floodgates opened.

And Cardinal goals poured out.

Will Such (Broomfield, Colo.) netted his first collegiate goal two minutes later, and David Gross (Grasston, Minn.) added his third of the season at 19:05, as the Cardinals headed into the locker room after one period boasting a 3-0 lead.

Four minutes into the second period, Sean Geiger (Woodridge, Ill.) pushed the Cardinals' lead to 4-0 wiht his second of the season. GAC made things interesting, getting back-to-back goals from Patrick Dynan and Ben Ollila four minutes apart midway through the second period to cut the SMU lead to two, 4-2, heading into the game's final 20 minutes.

"I wasn't too concerned (when Gustavus scored its two second-period  goals), but history certainly hasn't been in our favor when it comes to holding leads," admitted Olson, whose team has now held 4-1 leads three times this season — with Saturday's game the only one that resulted in a Cardinal win. "The guys were determined not to let this lead slip through their fingers — it was too important to them.

"There was no way they were going be denied."

And when Mike Glaesmer (Traverse City, Mich.) notched his team-leading sixth goal of the season with three minutes remaining in regulation, their mission was officially accomplished.