By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. — Take away 57 seconds of the second period, and the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's hockey team played 10^th-ranked UW-Eau Claire dead-even through the first two periods of their nonconference game Tuesday evening.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, in those 57 seconds, the Blugolds netted two goals — one 25 seconds into the period and the other with 32 seconds remaining — sparking UW-Eau Claire to a 3-0 victory over Saint Mary's at Hobbs Ice Arena.
 
After a scoreless first period, the Blugolds quickly broke through to open the second, as Emma Peterson netted her first of the year, beating Saint Mary's goalie Ashley Corcoran (Red Wing, Minn.) off an assist from Hanna Zovoral.
 
The Blugolds would cling to that one-goal lead until the waning seconds of the period, when Abby Roeser took a fed from Peterson and beat Corcroan to give UW-Eau Claire a 2-0 lead heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
UW-Eau Claire padded its lead to 3-0 with the only goal of the third period on a Courtney Witing tally with less than four minutes remaining in regulation.
 
Corcoran was busy between the pipes for the Cardinals, stopping 39 of the Blugolds' 42 shots, while UW-Eau Claire goalie Erin Connolly finished with 15 saves.
 
The Cardinals (2-5-0 overall) are now off until Nov. 30-Dec. 1, when the return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a pair of home games against Saint Benedict. Saint Mary's and CSB will square off at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena, with the rematch slated for 2 p.m. the following afternoon.