By MEAGHAN UPDIKE
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — For seniors Ryan Charko (Warren, N.J.) and Austin Arnold (Anchorage, Alaska), it would be pretty hard to write a better ending to their senior night.
 
Not only did the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team come up with a convincing 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf in the final home game of the season — but the Cardinals also locked up the fifth and final spot in next week's MIAC Tournament in the process.
 
"The guys controlled their own destiny — and they went out and took care of business," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "I wouldn't say it was our most pretty effort, but we got the job done, and that's the bottom line. We needed one win to get into the playoffs, and the guys did what they had to do."
 
Carter Dahl (Fresno, Calif.) put the Cardinals on the board first, scoring his first collegiate goal three minutes into the opening period, taking a picture-perfect feed from Jack Hatton (Naperville, Ill.) and finding the back of the net.
 
The Oles' Luke Ranallo answered Dahl's tally at 13:48 of the first period with a power play goal, erasing the Cardinals' lead — and sending the two teams into the locker room deadlock at 1-1 after 20 minutes of play.
 
With just over three minutes left in the second period, Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season — also on the power play — to give Saint Mary's the lead for good. Hatton recorded his second assist of the game on Stang's tally.
 
Charko capped his senior night by scoring what proved to be the game-winner — his third in as many games and his fourth of the season — midway through the third period to push the Cardinals' lead to 3-1.
 
Hatton snagged his third point of the night with a empty-net goal at 16:43 in the third, and, after Dylan Kooner cut the Saint Mary's lead to 4-2, Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) scored the Cardinals' second empty-netter of the game, securing the 5-2 victory.
 
The Cardinals' Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) stopped 22 of St. Olaf's 24 shots on goal, while Eric Hancock made 20 saves for the Olies.
 
Saint Mary's (6-7-2 MIAC, 7-14-3 Overall) and St. Olaf are back in action Saturday night for a conference rematch at the St. Olaf Ice Arena in Northfield, Minn. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.