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WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University women's hockey coach Terry Mannor must have felt like he had a split personality when he left the SMU Ice Arena Saturday.

There was the pessimistic Terry, who saw a dark cloud hanging over his team's head following their second loss to Gustavus in as many days.

And there was the optimistic Terry, who may have seen the same dark cloud following Saturday's 3-0 setback to the seventh-ranked Gusties but he also saw the silver lining — with 20 games still to be played, the Cardinals didn't have to face GAC again, at least not until the MIAC Tournament.

And if the Cardinals are able to make the five-team conference tournament — with those additional 20 games under their belt — Mannor would love another crack at the Gusties.

“They are good,” understated Mannor, whose team fell to 0-16-1 in their last 17 games against the Gusties, dating back to a 2-1 MIAC Tournament victory during the 2001-02 season. “They are strong in every facet of the game.

“In a way, I was happy we got to play (Gustavus) in the first conference series,” Mannor added. “With such a young team, it showed everyone what it takes to be among the top teams in the conference — it showed us what we need to do to be where we are at.

“I'd love another shot at them in the playoffs.”

The Gusties got all the offense they would need off the stick of Lynn Hillen, who picked up a loose puck in front of the SMU net and put it past a fallen Madeline Lenz (White Bear Lake, Minn.) three minutes into the opening period.

That, however, would be the only offense for the high-powered Gustie attack through the first two periods, as Lenz stopped 31 of the 32 shots she faced through 40 minutes — including a 22-save performance in the opening period.

GAC quickly pushed their lead to 2-0 14 seconds into the third period on a goal by Christine Wicker, then iced the win on Alyssa Gaulrapp's powerplay goal with 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

Lenz, making her second collegiate start, finished with 46 saves for the Cardinals (0-2-0 MIAC, 1-4-0 overall), while GAC goalie Emily Klatt stopped all 12 shtos en route to her first career shutout.

“Our work ethic was much better tonight than it was (Friday night),” said Mannor, whose team dropped a 4-1 decision to the Gusties on Friday. “The difference between the two teams right now is that their passing, rink-sense, ability to win the one-on-one battles, is a little better than ours. And the only way for us to improve that is to push each other in practice Monday through Friday — we've got to work hard to make each other improve.

“I was happy with our performance, but we've still got a long ways to go.”