By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. CLOUD, Minn. — Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey coach Bill Moore knew the importance of a fast start in Friday's conference matchup against Saint John's.
 
And fast start there was — by the Johnnies, as SJU scored a pair of goals three minutes apart midway through the first period to grab an early 2-0 advantage.
 
It was the Cardinals, however, who had the better finishing kick.
 
 Saint Mary's scored the game-tying goal off the stick of Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to earn the Cardinals a 3-3 tie against the Johnnies, while brother Tommy Stang delivered the clinching shootout goal to help the Cardinals to the extra conference point.
 
"We finally got one of those late goals to work in our favor," said Moore, whose team has now had 10 of its first 11 games this season decided by two goals or less — including seven decided by one goal or less and five that have gone into overtime. "I thought we played really, really well in the second and third periods. We made a few adjustments (after the first period) and that seemed to help.
 
"These guys have been battling and battling all season — it's nice to see them get some reward for their hard work."
 
Brady Heppner broke the ice for the Johnnies at 8:58 of the opening period, bating Cardinal goalie Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) — who finished with 17 saves in the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
Less than three minutes later, the Johnnies' lead ballooned to 2-0 on a goal by Sean Lang.
 
Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.) got the Cardinals on the board, scoring his third of the season — assisted by Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) and Seth Kamrass (Peachtree Corners, Ga.) — at 16:00 to cut the deficit to 2-1 heading into the second period.
 
Robb Stautz gave Saint John's its second two-goal cushion, scoring at 16:08 of the second period, but Saint Mary's had an answer — a quick one — as Alex DiBacco (Darien, Ill.) scored just 32 seconds after Stautz to make it a one-goal game, 3-2, with one period to play.
 
The Cardinals would make coach Moore sweat things out in the third period, waiting until the final 1:41 before Jack Stang would net the equalizer and send the game into overtime.
 
Neither team would score in the 5-on-5 or 3-on-3 overtime periods, setting up Tommy Stang's shootout heroics.
 
After Tyson Liverance (Burford, Ontario) and Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) — along with all the Saint John's shooters — were stopped, Tommy Stang rifled a shot over the shoulder of SJU goalie Andrew Lindgren for that all-important extra conference point.
 
The Cardinals (0-3-2 MIAC, 0-8-3 overall) get another shot at the Johnnies on Saturday, as Saint Mary's and Saint John's return to the National Hockey Center for the second game of their two-game MIAC series. Puck drop is slated for 2 p.m.