WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's hockey coach Ryan Egan could sum up Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline in four words, "Better late than never."
 
When it seemed like Saint Mary's would suffer a second straight loss to Hamline in the teams' two-game conference series, the Cardinals popped in two goals — 32 seconds apart — in the final two minutes of the game that turned everything around, and secured an exhilarating 2-1 SMU win.
 
And what a thrilling win it was. 
 
The first period was a fast-paced, evenly balanced matchup, with neither team able to add a goal to the board until Sam Dabrowski found the back of the net for the Pipers at 16:43, giving Hamline a 1-0 lead that they carried into the break.
 
Although it was a scoreless second period, it was anything but uneventful. 
 
The Cardinals managed to fend off the Pipers— including killing off a two-minute, 5-on-33 Hamline power play. — and keep it a one-goal game heading into the third period.
 
Just when it appeared that the third period would mimic the second — scoreless — Jack Campion (Crystal, Minn.) stepped up for the Cardinals, scoring his first collegiate goal with two minutes remaining in regulation, off an assist from Warner Young (Newberry, Mich.), to bring SMU even, 1-1.
 
But a tie wasn't good enough for Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa), who netted a goal just 32 seconds after Campion's tally to secure the Cardinals' first win of the season.
 
Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced in goal for the Cardinals to record his first win of the season.
 
The Cardinals (1-1-0 MIAC, 1-2-1 overall) step out of conference play for a pair of nonconference home games. SMU will host UW-Stevens Point in a 2 p.m. matinee on Friday, before welcoming UW-Superior to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a 7 p.m. showdown the following evening.
 
 
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