MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — When the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team squared off against fifth-ranked Augsburg Friday evening, the Auggies erupted for two goals in the first four minutes of the first period en route to a 4-0 victory.
 
It was déjà vu all over again in Saturday's rematch — only this time, the Auggies needed six minutes to net their first two goals of the game.
 
And for the second straight game, the early two-goal deficit was too much to overcome, as Augsburg deal the Cardinals a 5-2 setback at Ed Saugestad Arena.
 
Erik Palmqvist got the Auggies on the board three minutes into the first frame, and, two minutes later, that advantage doubled, as Mason Palmer beat Cardinal goalie Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) to give Augsburg a commanding 2-0 lead.
 
And, just like Friday, two first-period goals wasn't enough, as Daniel Chladek scored with less than five minutes to go to give Augsburg a 3-0 advantage heading into the first-period intermission.
 
Augsburg pushed its lead to 4-0 six minutes into the second period on a goal by Gavin Holland, and, five minutes later, Daniel Chladek made it five different Auggies to find the back of net, giving Augsburg a 5-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals finally broke the ice at 13:34 of the middle period, as Warner Young (Newberry, Mich.) scored his second of the season, off an assist from Jack Campion (Crystal, Minn.) to get Saint Mary's within 5-1 heading into the third period.
 
SMU continued to cut into the Augsburg lead early in the final period, as Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa) found the back of the net, off an assist from Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau, Wis.), to get the Cardinals to within three, 5-2.
 
That, however, would be as close as Saint Mary's would get, as Augsburg held the Cardinals at bay over the final 14:15 to secure its second straight win over SMU.
 
Sankner, coming off a career-high 45-save effort on Friday, finished with 27 saves in Saturday's rematch, while Augsburg goalie Samuel Valetelka finished with 22 saves between the pipes for the Auggies.
 
Saint Mary's (1-3-0 MIAC, 1-6-1 overall) are back in action on Tuesday, when they return home to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. nonconference game against Lawrence.
 
 
 
 
 
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