MILWAUKEE, Wis. — After erupting for 11 goals in their final game of 2014—an 11-2 rout of Aurora on Dec. 3—the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team was hoping to pick up right where they left off when they took to the ice for their first game of 2015.
 
Unfortunately, one thing was glaringly missing against Milwaukee School of Engineering Sunday—that explosive Cardinal offense.
 
The Raiders scored the game's four goals—one in the first, two in the second and another in the third—in handing Saint Mary's a 4-0 nonconference setback at the Kern Center.
 
"We did not play well at all tonight," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "We came out sluggish, fell behind by a couple goals and just weren't able to right the ship.
 
"You could tell we've been off for 26 games," Moore added. "But the bottom line is, we have to be better than we were tonight. We have to go out and play at the high level we are capable of playing—and we didn't do that."

The Raiders struck first, as Zach Simpson scored the only goal of the first period, beating Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) at 15:13.
 
MSOE's Jerad Tafoya and Nick LaRue gave the Raiders a little breathing room with second-period tallies—Tafoya's at 7:17, and LaRue's with just 1:02 remaining in the period.
 
Tafoya would add his second of the night six minutes into the third period, and MSOE goalie Nick Kohn preserved his first shutout of the season, stopping all 17 Saint Mary's he faced.
 
After holding an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal in the first period, the Cardinals were held to nine shots over the game's final 40 minutes. Saint Mary's did not allow a power play goal—MSOE was 0-for-3 with the man advantage—but the Cardinals' power play finished 0-for-6.
 
Heinle was kept busy in the Cardinal goal, stopping 21 of the 25 shots he faced—including eight in the second period and 10 more in the third.
 
The Cardinals (3-6-2 overall) are back in action this weekend, hosting St. Scholastica and Northland in a pair of nonconference games. Saint Mary's and the Saints will meet on Friday, with the Lumberjacks coming to town on Saturday. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena