Box Score  | GameDay Preview

BLAINE, Minn. — Talk about déjà vu.

Saturday evening's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game between the Saint Mary's University and Bethel men's hockey teams was a mirror image of Friday's.

Much to the delight of SMU coach Bill Moore.

For the second night in a row, Bethel scored first and SMU answered for a 1-1 tie after one period.

For the second night in a row, SMU added two goals in the second period and pushed that advantage to 4-1 in the third.

The only difference — the Cardinals' offense wasn't done, as Nick Gorup (Omaha, Neb.) scored his second goal of the night with just over two minutes remaining to complete the Cardinals 5-1 MIAC victory and sweep of the league-leading Royals at the Schwan's Super Rink.

“This was a great weekend — great total team effort all the way around,” said SMU coach Bill Moore, whose team had opened the weekend series with a 4-1 win over the Royals at the SMU Ice Arena on Friday. “The guys are playing with a great deal of confidence and playing extremely well in our defensive zone — and that was the key for us this weekend.

“There wasn't a time on the bench tonight that I thought the guys felt worried — there was total confidence that we were going to get the job done.”

For the second game in a row, it was the Royals who got on the board first — and for the second straight game, the Cardinals answered. Mike Hill (Fort Worth, Texas) took a feed from Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) off the face off and rifled a shot past Bethel goalie Dan Harper for his second goal in as many games and team-leading 10th of the season to knot the game, 1-1, after one.

The Cardinals then went on the offensive in the second period, grabbing a 2-1 advantage on a goal by Gorup four minutes in, and Hill added his second of the game — and third of the weekend — six minutes later on the power play to push the SMU lead to 3-1.

And, just like Friday evening, the Cardinals pushed that lead to three, 4-1, on a goal by Ryan Griffiths (Arvada, Colo.) midway through the third period. Gorup then made it a four-goal cushion, scoring his second of the game with just over two minutes remaining in regulation.

“We've put ourselves in a really good position,” said Moore, whose Cardinals are the only team in the MIAC with just one loss — but still trail St. Thomas in the standings, with the Tommies having already played two more MIAC games that SMU. “But we have to keep it going — we can't afford to get complacent or too over-confident.

“We're all thrilled with the wins, but we have to make sure to enjoy it now, but come Monday be able to put it behind us and focus on next weekend against St. Thomas.”

The Cardinals, who improved to 5-1-0 in the MIAC — their best conference start since going 6-0-1 to open MIAC play in 2004-05 — and 7-8-0 overall, are back in action on Friday, when they host St. Thomas in the first of two MIAC game between SMU and UST.