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WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's hockey coach Bill Moore knew that if his Cardinals expected to hang with defending regular-season co-champion Saint John's Friday evening, a quick start was key.

A quick start is what the Cardinals coach got.

Unfortunately, it was the Johnnies who got off to the quick start, as SJU erupted for three first-period goals.

Down, but far from out, the Cardinals battled back — finally digging out of the three-goal hole with a goal two minutes into the third period, only to have SJU answer three minutes later to lift the Johnnies to the 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win at the SMU Ice Arena.

"I was proud of the way we battled back to get it back to 3-3, but you just can't put yourselves in those types of holes — we spent so much energy battling to get it back to 3-3 that we didn't have anything left in the tank," said Moore. "The biggest different in the game tonight was shot-blocking — (SJU) blocked everything, and we wouldn't get in front of any of their shots."

After spotting the Johnnies a 3-0 advantage — on goals by Nick Senta, Justin Hochprung and Tyson Fulton — the Cardinals got to work digging their way out of that first-period hole.

Nick Nagel (Andover, Minn.) — who, along with linemate Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), each beat SJU goalie Saxton Soley with a shot in the first period, only to have both shots clank off the post on the same shift — got the Cardinals on the board 1:34 into the second period, and Bobby Thompson (Centerville, Minn.) added his team-leading third of the season five minutes later, as SMU cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the game's final 20 minutes.

Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) netted the equalizer for the Cardinals at 2:15 of the third period, but the stalemate didn't last long, as the Johnnies' Phil Johnson beat SMU goalie Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) three minutes later to put SJU up for good.

"We had our chances — we hit the post twice and had some great scoring chances in the third," said Moore. "We just couldn't convert in those crucial situations."

Gaffy finished with 20 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Stoley kicked out 25 of the Cardinals' 28 shots in goal for SJU.

SMU (0-3-0 MIAC, 2-5-0 overall) get another shot at Saint John's on Saturday, as the Cardinals and Johnnies square off in the second game of the two-game conference series at 2 p.m. at the SMU Ice Arena.