WINONA, Minn. — For members of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team, goals have come in bunches of late
 
Friday evening, Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) recorded his first collegiate hat trick, scoring three times in the Cardinals' 5-2 nonconference win over St. Scholastica.
 
And Saturday, the Cardinals were at it again, getting multiple-goal games from not one—but two players—as Saint Mary's held off Northland for a 5-4 nonconference win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
Taylor Portner and Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) accounted for all five of Saint Mary's goals against the Lumberjacks, as Portner netted his first collegiate hat trick and Cesarz recorded his first two-goal game as a Cardinal to propel Saint Mary's to its second straight victory.
 
"We started out well, and Northland came back on us hard and we got back on our heels a bit late in the first period," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "We came out strong in the second and regained the momentum.
 
"It was great to see Porty and Chad ignite our offense—they had great games," Moore said. "Great to come away with a sweep this weekend and set the table for Bethel next week."
 
Cesarz opened the scoring for Saint Mary's, scoring 3:42 into the opening period, with Portner following that up with his first of the night less than a minute later.
 
Northland would pull even before the period ended, as the teams headed to the locker room after 20 minutes deadlocked at 2-2.
 
Enter Cesarz and Portner—again.
 
Cesarz made it 3-2 Saint Mary's at 4:04 of the middle period, and Portner gave the Cardinals a two-goal cushion with his second of the night with 1:38 remaining.
 
Portner would complete his three-goal performance 11 minutes into the third period to give the Cardinals what appeared to be a commanding 5-2 advantage.
 
Northland, however, would not go away quietly, as the Lumberjacks Chris Bethumeur and Michael Berens scored less than two minutes apart late in the period to cut the Cardinal advantage to 5-4.
 
That, however, would be as close as Northland would get, as Saint Mary's held on for the win in its final nonconference game of the season.
 
Christian Gaffy (Scandia, Minn.) picked up the win in goal for Saint Mary's, stopping 22 of the Lumberjacks' 26 shots, while Dax Deadrick posted 24 saves—including 13 in the first period—for Northland.
 
The Cardinals (5-6-2 overall) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend, hosting Bethel in a 7 p.m. game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, before traveling to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.