Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

ST. CLOUD, Minn.  — With four games left in the regular season, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team were still in the hunt for a berth in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoffs.

But a win Saturday against Saint John's was a must.

And win the Cardinals did, as SMU got a goal from Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) at 7:15 of the third period to beat SJU 4-3 at the National Hockey Center.

"We played well tonight and did what we had to do," said SMU coach Bill Moore. "We played very well for three periods and got the big goal from Nagel in the third period. It was a fun game to watch, and it was fun to see us play well.

"Hopefully we can come back and put together the same kind of effort (Sunday)."

Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board first, as the freshman scored his fourth goal in the last three games on the powerplay eight minutes into the opening period. The Johnnies, however, answered less than a minute later to make it 1-1.

The Cardinals again took the lead, 2-1, on a Blake Zemaitis (Prospect Heights, Ill.) rebound goal at 12:56, then added their third goal of the first period with just 1.6 seconds remaining to take a 3-1 advantage into the period after 20 minutes of play.

SJU cut the gap to 3-2 midway through the second period, as Brent Brodersen beat SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) with a wrist shot over the glove side for his second goal of the season.

The Johnnies then turned the tables on the Cardinals, scoring the game-tying goal with 1.4 seconds remaining in the second period, as the two teams headed into the game's final 20 minutes tied at 3-3.

And set up Nagel's heroics.

The Cardinals, who improve to 4-7-2 in the MIAC and 5-15-2 overall, have a chance to sweep the Johnnies on Sunday, as the two teams square off again at the National Hockey Center. Puck drops at 2 p.m.