Box Score

	vs.
5		8

Game Summary / GameDay Online

ST.  PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team has faced some of the best teams in the nation through the season's first 14 games.

There was the 4-4, season-opening tie against ninth-ranked UW-Superior.

Then there was the 4-4 tie against then No. 1-ranked UW-River Falls on Nov. 20.

And of course, there was the 3-2  overtime loss to the nation's current No. 1-ranked team, St. Norbert, last weekend.

In fact, through their first 14 games — including those three against nationally ranked opponents, the Cardinals had allowed more than four goals just three times, and had not surrendered more than six since falling to St. Scholastica 7-4 in the second game of the season.

That all changed on Friday.

Hamline did something no team has done to the Cardinals this season, as the Pipers — fueled by a three-goal first period — erupted for eight goals in beating SMU 8-5 in a Minnesota intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at Drake Arena.

"I don't know what it was, we just came out flat in the first period and were never able to fully recover," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team gave up a goal in the game's first 13 seconds and fell behind 3-0 after the opening 20 minutes. "We seemed to get things going a little bit in the second period, but we were never able to get closer than two goals.

"It was just one of those nights where nothing seemed to go right."

Steve Festler got the Pipers off and running, netting the game's first goal just 13 seconds in, while Dustin Fulton and Andrew Birkholz also beat SMU goalie Dan Smith (Rochester, Minn.) in the game's opening 20 minutes to give Hamline its 3-0 first-period cushion.

Mike Glaesmer (Traverse City, Mich.) netted the first of his two gaols on the evening 36 seconds into the second period, but Hamline responded with its fourth goal of the game a minute later. Morgan Shepherd (Brainerd, Minn.) cut the gap to 4-2 with his eighth of the season at 2:41, but again the Pipers answered, as Fulton scored his second of the game  10 minutes later. Glaesmer capped the wild second period with his second of the night — and team-leading 11th of the season to make it a 5-3 contest heading into the third period.

Unfortunately, it was the Pipers who held the upper hand in the final 20 minutes, scoring three times to the Cardinals' two — a Jesse Polk (Hastings, Minn.) tally at 7:11 and a goal by Anthony Bohn (Spring Hills, Fla.) at 14:15 — as Hamline beat the Cardinals for the second straight time.

"It wasn't one of our best efforts, no question about that," said Olson, whose team returns home to host the Pipers in the second game of their two-game MIAC series Saturday night. "We've got to come out and play much better — right from the opening face-off — if we hope to be successful (in the rematch)."