WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team kicked off the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference portion of its schedule on Friday — and the first conference game wasn't the only first for the Cardinals.
 
There was the first collegiate goal by Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.).
 
There was the first collegiate goal by Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.).
 
There was the first collegiate goal by Morgan Leib (Farmington Heights, Mich.).
 
And most importantly, there was the first conference win of the season.
 
Fueled by the three collegiate-first goals, and a 33-save effort from goalie Ary Ziakas (Palatine, Ill.), the Cardinals kicked off conference play with a 3-2 victory over Concordia at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
After coming up empty in their last contest — a 7-0 loss to fourth-ranked UW-River Falls last Saturday — the Cardinals got off to a much better start against the Cobbers, breaking the scoreless first-period deadlock on Polzin's first collegiate tally.
 
The goal at 13:18 of the opening frame — off assists from Carson Sheridan (Waunakee, Wis.) and Ella Ausman (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) — proved to be the only goal in the game's opening 20 minutes, as SMU clung to that 1-0 advantage heading into the first intermission.
 
Urlaub got into the scoring column for the first time in a Cardinal uniform at 9:41 of the second period — accounting for the lone goal of the middle frame — to give Saint Mary's a two-goal lead with 20 minutes to play.
 
Concordia foiled Cardinal goalie Ary Ziakas' shutout bid less than two minutes into the third period, but Leib would answer four minutes later with her first Cardinal goal once again giving Saint Mary's a two-goal cushion.
 
The Cobbers would once again claw within one, scoring with less than six minutes remaining in regulation on a goal by Brenna Mjorness, but that was as close as CC would get.
 
The Cardinals (1-0-0 MIAC, 2-2-0 overall) and Cobbers (0-1-0 MIAC, 2-1-0 overall) get right back at it Saturday afternoon, as the two teams conclude their two-game MIAC series with a 2 p.m. matinee at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.