Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The first time the Saint Mary's University and Augsburg men's hockey teams squared off, the Auggies erupted for eight goals in an 8-4 victory at the season-opening MIAC Hockey Showcase.

Friday evening, the two teams met again in the first game of their two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series, and this time around, the Cardinals held the Auggies to half their Showcase offensive output.

Unfortunately for SMU coach Bill Moore, the SMU offense came up one goal short of its Showcase performance — and that one goal proved to be the difference, as Augsburg held off the Cardinals 4-3 at the Ed Saugestad Ice Rink.

“We didn't play too well early, but seemed to pick it up as the game went on,” said Moore. “We just couldn't seem to catch a break tonight.”

Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board first, scoring the only goal of the opening period, as he took a feed from Tim Wolford (Maple Grove, Minn.) and rifled a shot over the glove of Augsburg goalie Justin Lochner.

Augsburg turned that one-goal, first-period deficit into a one-goal, second-period advantage, scoring twice in a seven-minute span — the second with 57 seconds remaining in the period — to take a 2-1 lead into the game's final 20 minutes.

Joel Sauer pushed Augsburg's lead to 3-2 when a Bryan Frischmann shot glanced off his leg and past SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) and Loren Egan made it 4-2 two minutes later.

The Cardinals cut the gap to 4-3 when Thompson netted his second of the game — and second of his career — with 2:01 left in regulation.

That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get.

The Cardinals (3-6-2 MIAC, 4-14-2 overall) get another shot at the Auggies on Saturday, as SMU hosts Augsburg in the second game of their two-game conference series. Game time is set for 7 p.m.