Box Score HARRISVILLE, R.I. — For the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team, the Cardinals' performance at the Nichols' Holiday Tournament can be summed up in two words: Third period.
The third period was the savior for SMU on Saturday, as the Cardinals scored three times in the game's final period en route to a 5-4 shootout win over host Nichols in the semifinals of the two-day, four-team tournament.
The third period wasn't so memorable in Sunday's title game, however, as Wesleyan scored four times in that final 20-minute span, erasing SMU's 3-1 lead and carrying them to a 5-3 victory.
“That was a tough way to lose — we played very well in the first two periods, but we just didn't have that same jump in the third,” said SMU coach
Bill Moore. “I don't know if we just ran out of gas or what. We did only have three days of practice after a month off, so we might have lost our legs a bit — but mentally we weren't there in the third period.
“(Wesleyan) definitely outworked us in the third and deserved the win.”
The Cardinals wasted no time getting on the board Sunday, as
Anthony Bohn (Spring Hill, Fla.) scored just 36 seconds into the opening period. Wesleyan would answer back on a goal by John Guay at 8:40, as the two teams went into the locker room after one period tied 1-1.
SMU again displayed its quick-strike ability in the second period, as
Eric Tenvoorde (St. Cloud, Minn.) gave the Cardinals' a 2-1 lead 1:16 into the middle frame.
Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) would push the lead to 3-1 with his second goal in as many days at 7:21.
That, however, would be all the offense the Cardinals could muster — and Wesleyan was just getting warmed up, scoring twice in a five-minute span early in the third period to knot the game at 3-3, then getting the game-winner from A.J. Ferraro at 14:48 and an empty netter off the stick of Geoff Mucha with 48 seconds remaining to seal the win and the tournament title.
Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) finished with 27 saves for SMU, while Tim Archibald had 28 saves for Wesleyan.
The Cardinals, who fall to 1-9-1 overall, return to action on Friday and Saturday, playing host to NCHA foes UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls at the SMU Ice Arena.
