WINONA, Minn. — After scoring five goals in each of their last two games, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey coach
Bill Moore was hoping his Cardinals' high-octane offense would pick up right where it left off Friday against Bethel.
It did.
The Cardinals scored two goals in both the first and third periods—and finished with five goals for the third straight game—as Saint Mary's knocked off Bethel 5-2 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
"It was a good win for us," said Moore. "I thought we really played well in the first period, and our intensity dropped off a bit in the second and third, but overall, I was very pleased with the way we performed."
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board first seven minutes into the opening period, beating Bethel goalie Will Griswold high on the glove side for his first goal in a Cardinal uniform.
Bethel got the equalizer two minutes later on a goal by J.T. Walters, but Saint Mary's
Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) got the lead back for the Cardinals with his third of the season at 16:08.
Jed McGlasson (Kenai, Alaska) pushed the Saint Mary's lead to 3-1 with the only goal of the second period—his eighth of the season—at 7:51.
The Royals cut the deficit to 3-2 with a powerplay goal by Jackson Purvis seven minutes into the third period, but again the Cardinals responded, getting back-to-back goals from McGlasson and
Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) a minute apart late in the period to ice the win.
Heinle finished with 23 saves in goal for the Cardinals—seven in both the first and second periods, and nine in the third—while Griswold had 30 saves between the pipes for the Royals.
The Cardinals (1-2-2 MIAC, 6-6-2 overall) and Royals go at it again on Saturday, as the two teams head to the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for the second game of the two-game conference series. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
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