BLAINE, Minn. ­ — Goals came in bunches for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Gustavus men's hockey teams Friday evening.
 
• Three goals in 1:10.
 
• Two goals in 45 seconds.
 
• Two goals in 29 seconds.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the game's final goal stood all alone—and was scored with just 25 seconds remaining in regulation—lifting Gustavus to a 5-4 nonconference win over Saint Mary's during Day 1 of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase.
 
"It's not the end result we were hoping for, that's for sure," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "I'm a little disappointed in our performance—there's no question we can play better than we showed tonight.
 
"We've got a lot to work on, but we'll be ready to go (Sunday)."
 
After an uneventful first period—in which the Cardinals held a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal—the offensive fireworks kicked into high gear over the game's middle period.
 
In fact, in a span of 1:20, the 0-0 defensive battle became a 2-1 Gustavus lead.
 
Drew Aspinwall scored the game's first goal—a power play tally at 8:57 of the second period—and just 38 seconds later, the Gusties struck again on a goal by Gavin Tufte.
 
Unfazed by the 2-0 deficit, Saint Mary's answered just 32 seconds after Tuft's goal, as Connor Langfield (Rosemount, Minn.) found the back of the net off assists from Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.).
 
The one-goal deficit ballooned to two goals before the period ended, as GAC's Jake McCann netted his first of the season at 16:12 to give the Gusties a 3-1 edge heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
And what a wild final 20 minutes it proved to be.
 
The Cardinals' Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.) needed just 17 seconds to get the Saint Mary's back within one, 3-2, but the quick-striking Gusties had an answer, as Tim Donohue tallied the first of his two-third period goals just 45 seconds later to make it 4-2.
 
Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) scored the first of back-to-back power-play goals for the Cardinals to whittle the Gustie lead to 4-3—and 29 seconds later, Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) found the back of the net to pull Saint Mary's even, 4-4.
 
The score remained deadlocked until the game's final minute, when Donohue beat Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) high to the stick side with 25 seconds remaining to give Gustavus the win.
 
Heinle finished with 22 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Erik Johnson made 38 saves—including 18 in the third period—for Gustavus.
 
The Cardinals are back in action on Sunday, squaring off against Hamline in a rematch of last season's MIAC Playoff championship game. Opening faceoff is slated for 3 p.m. at the Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn.