By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
ST. PETER, Minn. — After a 20-day conference hiatus, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team returned to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Friday.
 
And the Cardinal offense appeared a bit rusty from the lengthy layoff.
 
Gustavus' offense, on the other hand, was in tip-top shape.
 
The Gusties erupted for three goals in the first period — and never slowed down — rolling to a 7-0 conference win over the Cardinals at Don Roberts Ice Arena.
 
The Gusties did not waste time shifting from neutral to fourth gear, as Gustavus erupted for three first-period goals. Jared Bromberg kicked things off with a goal at 8:42 of the first period, before Nick Kishko and Toby Sengvongxay found the back of the net less than two minutes apart in the final four minutes of the opening stanza to give GAC a commanding 3-0 advantage.
 
And GAC was just getting warmed up.
 
Will LeNeave and Connor Clemons scored second-period goals to push the Gustavus lead to 5-0, and Grenden Payne found the back of the net twice in a 25-second span before the third period was even two minutes old to round out the scoring.
 
Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) finished with nine saves in just under 36 minutes of work for the Cardinals, while Parker Swanson (Eden Prairie made eight saves in relief. Robbie Goor stopped all 24 Saint Mary's shots in earning the shutout for the Gusties.
 
The Cardinals (2-1-0 MIAC, 2-5-1 overall) and Gusties (2-1-0 MIAC, 5-4-0 overall) head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening face-off is set for 7 p.m.