MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — Talk about making a statement to kick off the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference season.
 
The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team certainly faced a daunting task in its conference-opener Saturday evening, as the Cardinals squared off against three-time defending conference champion St. Thomas.
 
And the Cardinals were up to the challenge, batting the high-powered Tommies—the near-unanimous choice by MIAC coaches to win their fourth consecutive regular-season crown— to a 3-3 overtime tie, while also picking up the valuable extra conference point by topping UST 1-0 in the three-person shootout.
 
"What a great way to start the conference season," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "The guys did a great job from start to finish. St. Thomas is a very good team—they were picked by the conference coaches to win the conference again this year—but our guys weren't about to be intimidated by them. We just went out there and played our game."
 
And what a game they played.
 
The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead, as Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) and Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) each found the back of the net in the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
The Tommies cut the Cardinals' lead to one just one minute into the second period, as Willie Faust tallied the first of his two goals. And the quick-striking Tommies were at it again to open the third period, as UST netted a power play goal just four minutes into the third period to knot the game at 2-2.
 
The Cardinals got a power play opportunity of their own midway through the period—and made the most of it, as Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) blasted a slap shot past Fielding to give Saint Mary's a 3-2 advantage.
 
St. Thomas, however, once again found a way to claw back to even, as Faust scored for the second time with just two minutes remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
 
"It's unfortunate that we gave up that goal late, but the guys didn't let it get them down," said Moore. "That's one of the biggest differences between this team and those of the past—this team doesn't let anything faze them, they just keep battling.
 
"The work ethic and character on this team is tremendous."
 
After a scoreless five-minute overtime session, the game went to a shootout—the first time the Cardinals have gone to a shootout in its two-year existence.
 
Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) did his part, stopping all three Tommie shooters, while Fielding shut down Gruse and Bob Marx (Sioux City, Iowa), but could not stop the Cardinals' third shooter—Jonathan Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.), who lifted a back-hander into the net to seal the victory.
 
The Cardinals and Tommies complete their two-game MIAC series on Sunday, as Saint Mary's hosts St. Thomas in a 5 p.m. showdown on Sunday.