ST. CLOUD, Minn. — With a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff  berth resting on the performance of the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team over the final four games of the season, the Cardinals made sure to get their playoff push off to an impressive start Friday.
 
The Cardinals scored a pair of second period goals, and netted an insurance tally midway through the third, as Saint Mary's collected a 3-1 conference win over Saint Benedict at the Municipal Athletic Complex.
 
"I thought we came out and played very well early, and then had to hang on a bit in the third," said Saint Mary's coach Terry Mannor. "We know we've got our work cut out for us over these final two weeks of the season—but this is definitely the start we needed."
 
After a scoreless first period, Maddy Wallraff (Blaine, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board, scoring off an assist from Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.) three minutes into the middle period.
 
McKenna Parent (Anoka, Minn.) made it 2-0 with an unassisted tally at 15:05, but the Blazers would answer, as Stephanie Kirk beat Cardinal goalie Tori Herrmann (Elk River, Minn.) just 31 seconds after Parent's goal to make it 2-1 Saint Mary's heading to the third.
 
Molly Abraham (Sterling Heights, Mich.) gave Saint Mary's—and coach Mannor—a bit of breathing room scoring with 5:29 remaining in regulation to ice the win.
 
Herrmann collected 28 saves—including 15 in the second period—in goal for the Cardinals, while Angel Hillstrom kicked out 21 Saint Mary's shots for the Blazers.
 
The Cardinals (7-6-2 MIAC, 8-11-3 overall) will go for the road sweep on Saturday, returning to the MAC for a 3 p.m. conference rematch against the Blazers.