WINONA, Minn. — For the second straight Friday night, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team scored three goals.
 
And for the second straight Friday night, three goals was more than enough.
 
Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) recorded his second shutout in his last three starts—the first coming last Friday in a 3-0 victory over Gustavus—as the Cardinals opened their two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against St. Olaf with a 3-0 win at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"I thought we played well—but I also think we can play better," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "We didn't utilize our speed as much as I would have liked, but in the end, the bottom line is, we got the win—and that's the important thing."
 
After a scoreless first period, Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board exactly halfway into the second period, taking a feed from Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) and banging the puck past St. Olaf goalie Steve Papciak.
 
Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) pushed the Saint Mary's lead to 2-0 with his first collegiate goal at 8:34 of the third period, and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) iced the win with a short-handed empty net goal—his team-leading 15th of the season—with 1:28 remaining in regulation.
 
Heinle—who stopped 75 of the 77 shots he faced in last weekend's split against Gustavus—finished with 31 saves against the Oles. The Cardinal sophomore was at his best in the second and third periods, making 11 second-period saves and 13 more ove the game's final 20 minutes.
 
The Cardinals (4-3-2 MIAC, 9-7-2 overall) hit the road on Saturday for Game 2 of their conference series with the Oles, traveling to the Northfield Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. showdown.

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