Game Summary | GameDay Preview

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team knew the Team USA National Development U18 Team was good.

After all, the U18s had already routed defending MIAC regular-season champion St. Thomas (8-1), while tying NCAA Division I University of Minnesota (2-2) and Notre Dame (1-1).

What the Cardinals didn't know, was just how good they were.

And unfortunately for the Cardinals, they learned it the hard way Sunday afternoon, as the U18s scored five first-period goals and never took their foot off the gas in handing SMU a 10-4 exhibition loss at The Ice Cube.

For the second straight night the Cardinals got on the board first, as Brad Fusaro (Soldotna, Alaska) converted on a penalty shot early in the opening period.

That was the good news for the Cardinals.

The bad news? Fusaro's tally proved to be a wake-up call for Team USA, as the U18s scored five unanswered goals over the final 15 minutes to take a 5-1 advantage into the locker room after one period.

And that was just a sign of things to come, as U18 netted four more goals in the second and another early in the third, before SMU scoring leader Austin Balko (Midland, Mich.) ended Team USA's 10-goal run with the Cardinals' second goal of the game. Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) and Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) also found the back of the net for the Cardinals in the game's final 15 minutes to make it a 10-4 final.

Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) finished with 25 saves in his 25 minutes of work, while Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) played the final 35 minutes, stopping 19 of the 22 shots he faced.

The Cardinals return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, as SMU hosts St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Ice Arena. The same two teams will then travel to Northfield, Minn., on Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. rematch at the Northfield Ice Arena.