By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The incredibly cloudy Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoff picture just got a little clearer.
 
And much more favorable for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team.
 
The Cardinals—facing several different playoff scenarios heading into the first game of their two-game conference series against St. Olaf Friday evening—made things a lot simpler, thanks to a 3-2 SMU win over the Oles.
 
And a little help from Augsburg.
 
With the Cardinals' win—and the Auggies' 6-3 victory over Concordia—Saint Mary's heads into its final game of the regular-season needing at least as many points against St. Olaf as Concordia gets in its rematch with Augsburg to secure an MIAC Playoff berth.
 
"We played really well," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore, noting that the three-team race—Saint Mary's, Concordia, and St. Olaf—became a two-team race, as the Cardinals eliminated the Oles from playoff contention with Friday's win. "Our defensemen played so well—give them a ton of credit.
 
"The guys played with huge heart—we needed a win and they came through."
 
The Cardinals did not waste any time taking the upper hand in this key conference showdown, as Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) banged home a Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.) rebound to give Saint Mary's a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the opening period.
 
The lead did not last long, however, St. Olaf netted the equalizer midway through the period on a goal by Drew Otto.
 
Johnson had so much fun setting up Wasell's early goal, that he was at it again late in the period, feeding a streaking Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), who tapped the pass past St. Olaf goalie Jude Hull for a 2-1 Saint Mary's lead—a lead the Cardinals would take into the locker room after the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
St. Olaf would pull even with the game's only goal of the second period—once again netted by Otto—as the two teams headed into the game's final 20 minutes deadlocked at 2-2.
 
Enter Ben Owen (Allen, Texas).
 
The senior defenseman gave the Cardinals their third lead of the game, scoring his third goal of the season at 3:38—off an assist from Kelvin Walz (Woodbury, Minn.)—and this time, Saint Mary's made that lead stand up.
 
Keeping those post-season hopes alive and well.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Cardinals (6-6-3 MIAC, 9-11-4 overall) and Oles head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the second game of their regular season-ending conference series on Saturday. Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.