By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
BLAINE, Minn. — Getting the lead wasn't an issue for the Saint Mary's University and Bethel men's hockey teams Friday evening.
 
Holding that lead, however, was another story.
 
Saint Mary's held leads of 1-0 and 3-2 — for a combined 2:31 —while the Royals owned a 21-second, 2-1 advantage in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, it was the Royals who held the lead last, as Nick Ketola scored 2:37 into overtime, lifting Bethel to a 4-3 conference win at the Schwan's Super Rink.
 
After a scoreless first period — in which Bethel held a 9-8 advantage in shots on goal — the Cardinals finally broke the ice at 8:17 of the middle period on a power-play goal by Sam Schultz (Lakeland, Minn.).
 
The lead, however, lasted less than three minutes, as Luke Posner pulled the Royals even, beating Cardinal goalie Al Rogers (New Haven, Conn.) with an even-strength tally to make it a 1-1 stalemate heading into the third period.
 
Bethel would score at 4:10 of the final frame to take its first lead of the game, 2-1, only to have the Cardinals answer 21 seconds later when Owen Sikich (Wolfeboro, N.H.) beat Bethel goalie Joe Sheppard for his third of the season.
 
And the trading of goals — and the short-lived lead that would go with it — continued later in the third period, as Ryan Stoynich (Calgary, Alberta) gave Saint Mary's a 26-second, 3-2 lead with his sixth goal of the season at 11:34, only to have Bethel's Josiah Roen knot the game at 3-3 20 seconds later to set up Ketola's overtime heroics.
 
Rogers finished with 22 saves for the Cardinals, while Sheppard recorded 31 saves between the pipes for the Royals.
 
The Cardinals (4-3-0 MIAC, 7-8-1 overall) and the Royals (3-3-3 MIAC, 4-11-3 overall) head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the second game of their two-game conference series. Opening faceoff is slated for 7 p.m.