MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University and St. Thomas men's hockey teams scored goals Friday, they scored them in bunches — and late in periods.
 
In fact, five of the seven goals scored came in a combined three minutes.
 
St. Thomas scored twice in the one-minute span late in the first period, and the Cardinals and Tommies combined for three goals in a span of 1:54 in the final two minutes of the second period.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, when the dust finally settled at the St. Thomas Ice Arena, it was the Tommies who came away with the victory, getting a power-play goal from Spencer Zweiner with 4:39 remaining in regulation to lift St. Thomas to a 4-3 win over Saint Mary's.
 
For the third straight game — and the sixth time in seven contests this season — the Cardinals got on the board first, as Nolan Dawson (Rocky View County, Alberta) netted his first collegiate goal at 6:48 of the opening period.
 
St. Thomas answered — and then some — before the period ended, getting back-to-back goals from Austin Nault and Spencer Zweiner a minute a part late in the stanza to take a 2-1 advantage into the locker room after 20 minutes.
 
The Tommies maintained that one-goal lead for the first 18 minutes of the second period, but over the final 1:56 the two teams would light the lamp three times.
 
Saint Mary's sandwiched goals by Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.) around a tally by UST's Josh Maucieri — the latter two goals just 35 seconds apart — to knot the game at 3-3 heading into the third period.
 
Both teams had several good scoring chances in the third, but neither could cash in — until Zweiner would beat Cardinal goalie Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.) for his second of the game to seal the UST victory.
 
Rogers was busy between the pipes for the Cardinals, finishing with 34 saves, while UST's Jacob Berger stopped 34 of Saint Mary's 36 shots on goal
 
The Cardinals (2-1-0 MIAC, 4-3-0 overall) are right back in action on Saturday, returning home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Bethel. SMU will then get one final shot at the Tommies — before UST leaves the MIAC at the end of the season — on Tuesday at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.