By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's hockey team closed out the preseason portion of its schedule Saturday evening — and getting through the first minute of the second and third period proved to be the Cardinals' undoing
Marian scored 38 seconds into the second period and added a goal 32 seconds into the third — before holding off a third-period Saint Mary's rally — en route to a 4-2 win over the Cardinals in an exhibition game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
After a scoreless first period — thanks in part to six saves from Cardinal goalie
Blair Sanders (Kansas City, Mo.) — Marian quickly broke the stalemate, as Connor Blanck rifled a shot over the shoulder of
Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) just 38 seconds into the second stanza.
And it was more of the same to open the third, as the Sabres' Lawson MacDonald welcomed Cardinal goalie
Parker Swanson (Eden Prairie, Minn.) by scoring just 32 seconds into the period to push Marian's advantage to 2-0.
Parker Colley gave the Sabres a little breathing room at 4:26 of the third, scoring Marian's second goal of the period to make it 3-0.
And they would need all of that breathing room, as the Cardinals scored back-to-back goals midway through the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.) got Saint Mary's on the board at 7:19 of the period, and
Nikita Sheberov (Obinsk, Russia) followed with a goal of his own 22 seconds later.
That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Marian's Zach Lawrence rounded out the scoring, netting Marian's third goal of the period with just over three minutes remaining.
All three Cardinal goalies played a 22-minute period, with Sanders stopping all six shots he faced, while Nast made seven saves and Swanson finished with three saves in the third.
The Cardinals officially kick off the 2019-20 season on Nov. 1-2, hosting Lake Forest in a pair of nonconference games at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena. The Sabres, meanwhile, begin 2019-20 action on Nov. 2, hosting UW-Stout in a 7 p.m. nonconference contest in Fond du Lac, Wis.
