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WINONA, Minn. — It's as if Saint Mary's University men's hockey coach
Bill Moore is having the same recurring nightmare — over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over.
Unfortunately, every time the Cardinal head coach pinches himself, he realizes he's not sleeping.
For the sixth straight game, the Cardinals surrendered a goal in the game's opening minutes — and found themselves staring at a deficit following the first 20 minutes of play.
St. Olaf scored on its first shot of the game four minutes in, then rattled off four unanswered goals to end the game, as the Oles handed SMU a 7-2 setback at the SMU Ice Arena to complete their two-game sweep.
"I was very disappointed in our discipline," said SMU coach
Bill Moore. "We gave them far too many power-play opportunities, and they made it hurt.
"You can't win the game from the box — and we spent way too much time there tonight."
Dylan Porter gave the Oles the early 1-0 lead, as his shot from the slot eluded SMU goalie
Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) just four minutes into the first period.
The Cardinals got things back to even 10 minutes later, as
A.J. Mueller (New Berlin, Wis.) rifled a slap shot from the point that beat St. Olaf goalie Steve Papcik cleanly for his first goal of the season.
The deadlock didn't last long, however, as Matt Guerts beat Gaffy on the power play with 1:07 left to give the Oles a 2-1 cushion heading into the locker room after one period.
Porter added his second of the game five minutes into the second period, but SMU again clawed within one on
Mike Wolter's (Antigo, Wis.) third goal of the season less than two minutes later.
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as St. Olaf scored one more in the second and three times in the third to seal the win.
The Cardinals (2-8-0 MIAC, 6-12-1 overall) are back in action on Friday, as they host Augsburg in a 7 p.m. game at the SMU Ice Arena. The two teams will then head to the Ed Saugestad Rink in Minneapolis, Minn., for the 7:05 p.m. rematch a day later.