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WINONA, Minn. — For the third straight game, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team found themselves in a real nailbiter Saturday evening at the SMU Ice Arena.

Unlike the first two, however, the Cardinals came out on the winning end this time around, as SMU scored three second-period goals and never looked back in handing St. Olaf a 3-1 nonconference setback.

“It feels good,” said SMU coach Bill Moore, whose squad snapped an 19-game winless streak (0-18-1) and a 21-game losing streak — dating back to a 3-1 win over Concordia on Nov. 14, 2009. “These guys have played hard all season, and tonight, they were rewarded for their efforts.

“We're a very young team and they need their experience to come quickly,” Moore added. “This was certainly a good start.”

The Cardinals broke a scoreless tie when Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored his second goal of the season nine minutes into the second period. The Oles quickly knotted things up a minute later when Peter Rohn banged a rebound past SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.).

That would be the last time the Oles would get a puck past Hortsman, who finished with 33 saves, while the Cardinals' offense was just getting warmed up.

Danny Wood (Wilmington, Ohio) and Ben Kitzmiller (Lambertville, Mich.) would each find the back of the net before the second-period horn sounded, giving SMU a 3-1 lead heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

“It was a little nerve-wracking,” Moore said of the third period. “But the guys did a nice job of holding their composure and playing hard.

“It's nice to come out on the winning side of one of these close games for a change.”

The Cardinals (1-3-0 overall) are back in action on Friday, when they opening conference play with a 7 p.m. contest against Concordia. The same two teams will then square off again Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.