WINONA, Minn. — Talk about a tough, four-game stretch.
 
A week after playing a pair of nonconference games against Lake Forest—the third-ranked team in the country, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team returned to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play against St. Thomas.
 
The fourth-ranked team in the country.
 
And a day after falling to the Tommies 3-1, the Tommies once again showed Saint Mary's why they are among the nation's best Sunday—erupting for four second-period goals en route to a 5-0 MIAC victory over the Cardinals at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"Give St. Thomas a ton of credit—they are a very good team," said Saint Mary's coach Terry Mannor. "I thought we played a very good first period, but after that, we just lost our jump. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but we are going to continue to struggle until we put together a complete, 60-minute game.

"A good period here or there just isn't going to cut it."

For the second game in a row, the two teams battled to a scoreless deadlock after the game's opening 20 minutes—with Saint Mary's goalie Marah Shields (Milford, Mich.) doing her part, stopping all 13 Tommies shots.
 
The Tommies finally broke through five minutes into the second period, as Hannah Burns' wrist shot got past Shields for a 1-0 UST lead.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, Burns' goal not only broke the scoreless tie, but also seemed to wake the Tommies' offensive juggernaut.
 
Just a minute after Burns' tally, the Tommies made it 2-0 on back-door tap-in by Leah Schwartzman on the power play—and over the next two minutes, St. Thomas would score twice more to push the lead to 4-0 midway through the second.
 
The Tommies tacked on their fifth goal 9:23 into the third period, as Burns netted her second of the game to round out the scoring.
 
St. Thomas held a 41-22 advantage in shots on goal. Shield finished with 18 saves in 28:31 minutes of work, while Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) added 18 saves of her own in relief. St. Thomas goalies Mackenzie Torpy and Frani Marshall teamed for the 21-save shutout.
 
The Cardinals (3-4-1 MIAC, 4-9-1 overall) are back on their home ice on Friday, hosting Hamline in a 7 p.m. MIAC contest. Saint Mary's and the Pipers will then move to Oscar Johnson Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.