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WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University and UW-Eau Claire women's hockey teams have battled to a split in their last three two-game nonconference series.

Bolstered by Friday's 2-1 victory at Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., the Cardinals were determined to change that trend when the two teams squared off again Saturday at the SMU Ice Arena.

UW-Eau Claire, however, had other ideas — and the trend continues — as the Blugolds scored the game's final two goals in handing SMU a 3-1 setback.

“It's exactly what I expected from these two teams — we always seem to be two, evenly matched teams,” said SMU coach Terry Mannor. “I actually thought we played better today than we did (Friday night), but that's hockey. Sometimes it's not just about who plays better, but rather who makes the most of their opportunities.

“We did that (Friday), and Eau Claire did that today.”

The Blugolds got on the board first, as Abbie Hawthorne netted her second of the season with less than five minutes remaining in the opening period. The Cardinals pulled even before the period ended, as Mary DeBartolo (Chicago, Ill.) scored her third goal of the year.

That, however, would be the extent of the Cardinals' offense, as UW-Eau Claire broke the 1-1 tie on a Toni Simones second-period tally, then iced the win with an empty netter by Katie Ward with 1:41 remaining in regulation.

Megan Brantley (Goodyear, Ariz.) finished with 29 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while UW-Eau Claire goalie Morgan Pieper stopped 24 SMU shots.

The Cardinals (3-6-3 overall) are back in action next Saturday, traveling to St. Olaf for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against the Oles. The two teams will play their two-game conference series on Dec. 2-3, with St. Olaf winning 5-4 in overtime and 3-1.