RIVER FALLS, Wis. — For the second night in a row, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team squared off against one of the nation's top teams.
 
And for the second night in a row, the Cardinals came away with a positive result.
 
The Cardinals, coming off a 3-3 overtime tie against UW-Eau Claire on Friday, scored three unanswered goals—two in the second period and another in the third—en route to a 4-2 victory over 10th-ranked UW-River Falls at W.H. Hunt Arena.
 
"That was a great way to cap a solid weekend," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "Anytime you can get a win and a tie against two of the top-ranked teams in the nation—on the road—that's a really big accomplishment.
 
"The key tonight was obvious—we did a much better job killing penalties," added Moore, whose team had surrendered nine power-play goals in its last two games. "We're starting to get things rolling, and that's great to see.
 
"Hopefully we can build off this as we head into conference play next weekend."
 
In a repeat of Friday's performance, it was the Cardinals who would jump out to a quick 1-0 lead. Saint Mary's—which got the game's first goal on a tally by Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) early in the first period against UW-Eau Claire on Friday—repeated that effort against the Falcons, as Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) scored at 4:54 of the opening period off assists from Mike Amelio (Venetia, Pa.) and Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.).
 
Kyle Gattelaro pulled the Falcons even five minutes later, beating Cardinal goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) for his second goal of the season.
 
UW-River Falls would grab its first lead of the game at 4:42 of the second period, but the lead did not even last two minutes, as Nick Albergo (Elmhurst, Ill.) scored an assisted tally at 6:05 to make it a 2-2 game. Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) would tack on the Cardinals' second goal of the period—and his second in as many nights—at 12:31 to give Saint Mary's a 3-2 edge heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) picked an ideal time to record his first goal in a Cardinal uniform, as the freshman scored off assists from Albergo and Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) at 2:21 of the third period—giving Saint Mary's some much-needed breathing room against the high-powered Falcons.
 
And a two-goal lead was more than enough for the Cardinals and goalie Phil Heinle, who finished with 24 saves—including all six he faced in the final period.
 
The Cardinals (1-2-1) kick off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Friday, traveling to Schwan's Super Rink in Blaine, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown against Bethel. Saint Mary's and BU will then head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.