Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

MOORHEAD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team didn't get the win that coach Terry Mannor was hoping for — but they did come away from Friday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener against Concordia with one point.

The Cardinals scored three unanswered goals, rallying from a 2-1 deficit to take a 3-2, third-period lead, but surrendered the game-tying goal with three minutes remaining in regulation in settling for a 3-3 tie against the Cobbers at the Moorhead Sports Center.

“It was one of those games where we played very well at times, and not so well at other times,” said Mannor, whose team moved to 3-1-1 overall. “Offensively we started a bit slow, but really picked things up — especially in the third period. It would have been nice to open (conference play) with a win, but we got a point out of it.”

The Cardinals got on the board first on Dana Krueser's (Maplewood, Minn.) second goal of the season at 6:32 of the first period, but the Cobbers answered with back-to-back goals a minute apart late in the second period to take a 2-1 lead into the game's final 20 minutes.

Kara Cole (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) pulled SMU even with her second goal of the season two minutes into the third period, and Cecilia Hardacker (Bloomington, Minn.) put the Cardinals out front 3-2 one minute later. SMU would hang on to that one-goal lead until the 16:14 mark, when Jenna Westerham beat SMU goalie Kaye Collier (Hibbing, Minn.) with her sixth goal of the season.

Collier finished with 21 saves for the Cardinals, while Concordia goalie Tamara Twite kicked out 28 SMU shots.

The same two teams will square off again Saturday in a 2 p.m. contest, also at the Moorhead Sports Center.