WINONA, Minn. — It was a classic battle of offense vs. defense Friday evening at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
On one end, you had the high-octane Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team, which entered the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game having scored five goals in each of its last four games.
 
On the other end, you had one of the hottest goalies in the conference in Gustavus netminder John McClean, who had allowed just five goals in his last three starts—including shutouts against St. Scholastica and Augsburg.
 
Fueled by a pair of first-period goals—and the shutout goaltending of Phil Heinle (York, Pa.)—the Cardinals used a lethal 1-2 punch to knock out the Gusties 3-0.
 
"That was a great team effort," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore, whose team pushed its winning streak to five in a row with the shutout victory. "We got outstanding goaltending from Phil, played very solid defensively in front of him, and offensively, I thought we were very good.
 
"It's always nice to pick up a win on your home ice—now we need to go out (Saturday), put the same effort forth, and finish the job."
 
The Cardinals did not waste any time putting one past McClean, as Joe Van Antwerp (Farmington Hills, Ill.) scored his second of the season just seven minutes into the opening period.
 
Cole Pierce (Grand Ledge, Mich.) pushed that lead to 2-0 three minutes later, netting his first goal as a Cardinal on a slap shot from the point that beat McClean to the stick side.
 
And thanks to the play of Heinle, who stopped all 20 of the Gusties' shots through two periods—including 14 in the middle stanza—the Cardinals took that two-goal advantage into the third period.
 
Connor Langfield (Rosemount, Minn.) gave Saint Mary's a three-goal advantage with his first collegiate goal at 13:51—but with Heinle between the pipes, the Cardinals didn't really need the breathing room, as the sophomore made 12 third-period saves to complete the 32-save shutout.
 
"It was good to see us spread the offense out tonight," said Moore, whose team's three goals all came from defensemen. "And when you get goaltending like we did tonight, it was a perfect combination."
 
The Cardinals (3-2-2 MIAC, 8-6-2 overall) and Gusties take to the road on Saturday for Game 2 of their two-game conference series, as the two teams square off at 7:05 p.m. at Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter, Minn.