Box Score  | GameDay Preview

VADNAIS HEIGHTS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team didn't get off to the same quick start the Cardinals did against Hamline on Friday night at the SMU Ice Arena — but the end result was the same.

And for coach Bill Moore, that's all that matters.

The Cardinals — coming off a 9-2 win over the Pipers that included a five-goal first period — scored five unanswered goals, erasing a 2-1 deficit and leading SMU to a 6-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory Friday evening at the Vadnais Heights Sports Complex.

“We were not at our best today, but we still found a way to get the win,” said Moore. “There's wasn't a ton of continuity — we really struggled with the small rink, but after the first period we made some adjustments and got the job done.”

The Cardinals — who got a first-period goal from Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) — found themselves staring at a 2-1 deficit after the opening period, but the game's final 40 minutes were all SMU.

Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored for the second time in as many nights to pull SMU even, 2-2, and Nick Gualano (Prospect Heights, Ill.) gave the Cardinals the lead for good with four seconds remaining in the second period.

Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) iced the Cardinals' win — and their first conference sweep since beating Concordia twice during the 2010-2011 season — scoring twice in the third period, while Adam Robson (Burnsville, Minn.) netted his first collegiate goal to account for SMU's other third-period tally.

Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) stopped 24 shots in goal for the Cardinals, while Matt Hemmingway had 30 saves in goal for Hamline.

The Cardinals (2-0-0 MIAC, 4-2-0 overall) are now off until Nov. 24, when they travel to Adrian, Mich., for a nonconference game against Adrian.