NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The first period of Tuesday's nonconference matchup against St. Olaf was a memorable one for Saint Mary's University coach Ryan Egan.
 
The second period, however, was one the Cardinal head coach would like to forget.
 
After scoring twice in the first period, the Cardinals surrendered three, second-period tallies, as St. Olaf rallied for a 3-2 victory over Saint Mary's at the St. Olaf Ice Arena.
 
Sam Hanson (Eau Claire, Wis.) got the Cardinals on the board at 4:35 of the first period — scoring for the third consecutive game — and Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) added Saint Mary's second goal of the period with 50 seconds to play to give the Cardinals what appeared to be a commanding 2-0 advantage.
 
And then came the forgettable second period.
 
Noah Heisler jump-started the Oles' offense, scoring just 1:45 into the middle period, and, 10 minutes later, Jared Pederson beat Cardinal goalie Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) for the first of two second-period goals to knot the game at 2-2.
 
Pedersen's second of the game, with 4:14 remaining capped St. Olaf's three-goal middle frame — and gave the Oles' a 3-2 edge heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Saint Mary's threw everything but the kitchen sink at St. Olaf goalie Colin Cain in the third period — peppering  the Ole netminder with 16 shots — but could not net the equalizer in falling for the second straight game.
 
Saint Mary's (5-5-0 overall) closes out its 2020-21 season on Thursday, heading to the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., for a 7 p.m. matchup against Saint John's.