WINONA, Minn. — It's been said that the first and last minutes of every period are the most important.
 
And after Saturday's game against UW-Stout, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey coach Bill Moore can certainly attest to that.
 
Saint Mary's scored with less than one second remaining in the first period, but surrendered goals in the first 26 seconds and the last 14 seconds of the second period—not to mention two empty-net goals in the final 38 seconds of regulation—as the Blue Devils handed the Cardinals a 6-3 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"I give our guys credit—we were really banged up and missing quite a few guys with injuries after Friday's game (against UW-Stevens Point)—and they gave it their all from start-to-finish," said Moore, whose team fell to the fourth-ranked Pointers 6-3 Friday. "We've still got a lot of things to work on, but I also think we can take some positives from this weekend, too."
 
The Cardinals opened the scoring just three minutes into the opening period, as Dylan Dock (River Falls, Wis.) netted his first of the season off assists from Landon Farrell (Rochester, Minn.) and Jonathon Elliott (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.).
 
UW-Stout, however, came roaring back, scoring back-to-back goals 1:17 apart—the first from Joe Kleven and the second off the stick of Tom Schmidt—to give the Blue Devils a 2-1 advantage.
 
An advantage the Blue Devils almost took into the locker room—almost.
 
Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) had other ideas, as the sophomore scored with less than one second on the clock to pull the Cardinals even 2-2 after the opening 20 minutes.
 
The Blue Devils turned the tables on the late-scoring Cardinals, however, regaining the lead just 26 seconds into the second period on a goal by Justin Moody, and then adding their second of the period with 14 seconds remaining to grab a 4-2 lead heading into the third stanza.
 
It wasn't the first minute—but it was close—as Elliott pulled the Cardinals within one, 4-3, just 2:52 into the third period, taking a pass from Mike Mezzano (Woodbury, Minn.) and beating UW-Stout goalie Spencer Viele high off the underside of the crossbar for his first goal of the season.
 
It remained a one-goal game until the final 38 seconds, when Moore was forced to pull his goalie for the extra attacker—and the Blue Devils scored a pair of empty-net tallies.
 
Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) finished with 21 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Viele collected 30- saves­—including 11 in both the second and third periods—for the Blue Devils.
 
The Cardinals (7-8-2 overall) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next Friday, heading to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup with Hamline. The two teams will then travel to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 7 p.m. rematch.