WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team entered its two-game series against Concordia unbeaten in four conference games—and sitting atop the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings.
 
When the final horn sounded Saturday afternoon, however, the Cobbers had knocked the Cardinals off that league-leading perch.
 
Concordia scored a pair of goals in the second period and held Saint Mary's off the scoreboard over the game's final 20 minutes in handing the Cardinals their second straight MIAC loss, a 3-2 setback, at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"This certainly wasn't the way we were hoping this weekend would unfold," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore, whose team dropped a 5-1 decision to the Cobbers in Friday's opener. "Give Concordia credit, they played very well all weekend—but we definitely weren't at the top of our game.
 
"There's no doubt—we have to play better, and we have to play better for an entire 60 minutes."
 
Concordia struck first, as Jon Grebosky scored his second goal of the weekend just 5:38 into the opening period. Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) got the Cardinals even eight minutes later, beating CC goalie Sam Nelson for his fifth of the year.
 
The Cobbers wasted little time regaining the lead once the second period opened, as Jeremy Johnson put one past Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) just 38 seconds into the second stanza.
 
Saint Mary's once again had an answer, as Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.) beat Nelson on the power play at 3:31 to knot the game at 2-2.
 
Bryan Kronberger got the Cobbers back out in front before the period ended, scoring at 17:03, and this time, the Cardinals did not have an answer, failing to come up with the equalizer over the game's final 23 minutes.
 
Heinle finished with 22 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Nelson stopped 38 Saint Mary's shots—including 15 in the second period and 13 more in the third.
 
The Cardinals (4-2-0 MIAC, 5-4-2 overall) step out of conference play next weekend, traveling to Aurora, Ill., for a pair of nonconference games against Aurora—the first a 3 p.m. matinee on Saturday, with the rematch at 4 p.m. a day later.