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WINONA, Minn. — With five minutes remaining in the third period, it appeared like the Saint Mary's University and Gustavus men's hockey teams were headed for their second overtime game in as many games.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to OT — Gustavus netted a pair of power-play tallies and an empty net goal en route to a 4-1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over SMU at the SMU Ice Arena.

The Gusties got on the board first, as Alex Gallen beat SMU goalie Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) five minutes into the opening period. It took the Cardinals until the 4:55 mark of the second period to knot things up, as Kevin Wentland (Columbia Heights, Minn.) scored his ninth of the season on the power play to make it 1-1.

The game would remain deadlocked — thanks in large part to the play of Horstman and his GAC counterpart Tyler Venne.

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, however, that all changed, as Wentland was whistled for a five-minute major penalty for head contact — and the Gusties took advantage, scoring back-to-back power-play goals two minutes apart to give Gustavus a 3-1 advantage.

Ross Ring-Jarvi would add an empty net goal as the Gusties kept their MIAC playoff hopes alive with the victory.

Horstman finished with 29 saves for the Cardinals, while Venne finished with 21 saves for Gustavus.

The Cardinals (1-11-2 MIAC, 4-17-2 overall) close out their season on the road next weekend, traveling to Moorhead, Minn., for a pair of conference games against Concordia. The two teams play Friday at 7 p.m., then square off again Saturday at 2 p.m.


The Gusties got on the board first