Box Score
WINONA, Minn. — For the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team, the first period was good, and the third period was even better.
Sandwiched in between, however, was 20 minutes that wasn't quite so good.
UW-Eau Claire broke a 1-1 tie with two second-periods goals two minutes apart and never looked back in handing the Cardinals a 4-2 nonconference setback Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena.
“The first period we played pretty well, and I thought we played very well in the third — but we weren't very disciplined in the second and it cost us,” said SMU coach
Bill Moore. “We spent most of the (second) period either 4-on-4 or killing a penalty. You aren't going to win too many hockey games that way.”
Joe Freund opened the scoring for the Blugolds at 16:21 of the opening period, but the Cardinals would answer, as Jeff Miller (Portage, Mich.) scored his first of the season with 48 seconds remaining to knot the game at 1-1.
Isaiah Bennis and Joe Bluhm would beat SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) in the middle frame, as the Blugolds peppered the Cardinal freshman with 19 second-period shots.
“We just didn't come out with the same intensity (in the second period),” said Moore, whose team was not only outshot 19-8, but was also whistled for five second-period penalties and had to kill of two 5-on-3 Blugold powerplays. “It's disappointing to have a period like that, especially with the way we played in the other two periods.
”The Cardinals matched UW-Eau Claire shot-for-shot — and goal-for-goal in the third period, as Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) netted his third goal in as many games at 11:55 to get SMU within one, 3-2, but, with Horstman pulled for the extra attacker, UW-EC's Bryce Wilcox grabbed an errant Saint Mary's pass and scored into the empty net to ice the win.
The Cardinals, who fall to 1-10-1 overall, are back in action Saturday, playing host to UW-River Falls in a 7 p.m. nonconference contest at the SMU Ice Arena.
