Box Score  | GameDay Preview

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. —  The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team had St. Thomas on the ropes Saturday afternoon, as the Cardinals scored the game's first two goals and held a 3-2 advantage late in the second period.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the quick-striking Tommies scored a pair of goals in the final 59 seconds of the second period — including the eventual game-winner with seven seconds remaining — in handing SMU a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.

"I thought we played a pretty solid game — it was a good, back-and-forth game from start to finish," said SMU coach Terry Mannor. "I thought we dominated for most of the first period and both teams had some great chances (in the second and third). We just had a letdown in the last minute of the second period, and it came back to haunt us."

Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) and Lindsay Paschke (New Prague, Minn.) each scored their first collegiate goals — Cwik's at 16:56 of the first period and Paschke's at 4:33 of the second — to give the Cardinals a 2-0 advantage. St. Thomas answered with back-to-back goals three minutes apart midway through the period to knot the game at 2-2.

Haley Coolsaet (Grosse Ile, Mich.) put the Cardinals back out front, scoring her first of the season at 17:44 of the middle frame — and it appeared SMU would take a one-goal advantage into the locker room after two periods.

St. Thomas, however, had other ideas.

Megan Juricho netted a powerplay goal with 59 seconds left, and Courtney Umland broke free and beat SMU goalie Sarah Gustafson (Esko, Minn.) with her second goal of the season 52 seconds later to give the Tommies the lead for good.

Gustafson finished with 31 saves — including 11 in the first period and 13 in the second — while UST goalie Alise Riedel kicked out 25 of SMU's 28 shots.

The Cardinals (0-1-0 MIAC, 0-2-0 overall) get another shot at the Tommies on Sunday, as SMU hosts UST in a 2 p.m. conference game at the SMU Ice Arena.