WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's men's hockey team took the ice Tuesday evening in dire need of an offensive jump-start.
 
After opening the season with five goals in a season-opening tie with Lake Forest, the Cardinals' offense has been mired in an early-season deep-freeze — managing just 11 goals in its last seven games combined.
 
That all changed Tuesday evening.
 
The Cardinals broke free for three goals — one in the first period and two more in the second — as Saint Mary's put an end to its four-game losing streak with a 3-1 nonconference win over Lawrence at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) got the Cardinals off and running, scoring with two minutes remaining in the opening period. Nathan Solis (Saline, Mich.) and Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau) picked up the assists on Magnavite's first goal of the season, which gave SMU a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
After a scoreless second period, in which Saint Mary's outshot the Vikings 16-3, the Cardinals pushed their lead to 2-0 when Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.) scored his first of the season — an unassisted tally — just 46 seconds into the third stanza.
 
The two-goal lead did not last long, however, as Jordan Cooper foiled SMU goalie Matt Sankner's (Pennington, N.J.) shutout bid with his first goal of the season just three minutes after Potyk's tally.
 
Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia) sealed the win for the Cardinals, scoring his first of the season with 2:28 remaining in regulation. Magnavite and Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.) were credited with the assists.
 
Sankner finished with 21 saves in goal for Saint Mary's — including 13 in the third period — while Lawrence goalie Owen Carlson stopped 43 of the Cardinals' 46 shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals (1-6-1 overall) are now off until Dec. 2-3, when they square off against Gustavus in a pair of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference games. SMU will host the Gusties in a 7:05 p.m. matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Friday, Dec. 2, before the two teams head to GAC's Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for the 7 p.m. rematch.
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