Box Score Game Summary vs. Bethel / GameDay Online

BLAINE, Minn. — For 20 minutes Saturday evening, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team could do no wrong.

For the final 40 minutes, however, the Cardinals could do little right, as Bethel scored four of the game's final five goals to rally for a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory, and a split in the teams' two game series.

“It was a tough loss,” said SMU coach Bill Moore. “We played well enough to win — we just got some bad breaks along the way. Whenever we needed a break, we just couldn't seem to catch one.”

SMU appeared to be unstoppable through the game's opening 20 minutes, making the most of their eight first-period shots, as Trevor Tolibas (Colorado Springs, Colo.) recorded his first two-goal game of his collegiate career in giving SMU a two-goal cushion heading into the locker room at the end of one period.

That, however, would opening 20 minutes would be the highlight of the night for the Cardinals, as Bethel scored the only goal of the second period, then, after #A.J. Wooward# (Lenexa, Kan.) gave the Cardinals a short-lived 3-1 lead two minutes into the third period, Bethel responded with three unanswered goals, including the game-winner by Chris Fiala with less than six minutes remaining in regulation.

Karac Davis (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who recorded his first collegiate victory in Friday's 6-3 SMU win, suffered the loss in goal for SMU, despite stopping 29 of the Royals 33 shots.

The Cardinals, who fall to 2-7-1 in the MIAC and 3-15-1 overall, are back in action Friday, when they play host to St. Thomas in the first of two conference games against the Tommies. Game time is 7:05 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.