By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — When Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey coach Bill Moore arrived at the arena late Saturday morning, his Cardinals' post-season fate was very much up in the air.
 
When Saint Mary's took the ice for their regular-season finale against St. Olaf, however, Moore and the Cardinals knew exactly what their fate was—a win against the Oles, and they were playing post-season hockey.
 
A loss, however, and the Cardinals' season would be over.
 
And thanks to a pair of goals from Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.), it appeared like the MIAC would be presenting Saint Mary's with the fifth and final post-season invitation.
 
The Oles had other ideas, scoring three times in the third period—before netting game-winner with 2:01 remaining in overtime—to lift St. Olaf to a 4-3 victory.
 
And end the Cardinals' season.
 
"This weekend just tells you how close the MIAC is—every game is a battle," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "This was a great weekend of hockey between two evenly matched teams. Unfortunately, they got the breaks and made the most of them."
 
Cesarz—one of 12 Cardinal seniors playing in their last collegiate home game—got the Cardinals on the board 3:46 into the first period, then added his second of the game 3:10 into the third period to give Saint Mary's a 2-0 advantage.
 
St. Olaf answered—in a big way—getting goals from Tuuka Totor and Charlie Widmar midway through the third period, before taking its first lead with a power-play tally at 17:27.
 
With goalie Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) pulled for the extra attacker, the Cardinals pulled even, as Jared Johnson (Hartland, Wis.)—another Cardinal senior—corralled a loose puck and beat St. Olaf goalie Eric Hancock with 1:18 remaining to send the game into overtime.
 
In the extra period, Drew Otto—who scored both of St. Olaf's goals in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Cardinals—picked up a loose puck and rifled a shot past Davis for the game-winner.
 
Davis finished with 21 saves in his last game in a Cardinal uniform, while Hancock stopped 32 Saint Mary's shots.
 
The Cardinals closed out the year 6-7-3 in conference play, while finishing 9-12-4 overall.