WINONA, Minn. — There's no other way to describe the matchup between the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team and Milwaukee School of Engineering, except as a tight-knit and hard-fought battle — and fortunately, one that ended with a triumphant win for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation and added an empty-net goal in defeating the Raiders 5-3 in a nonconference matchup at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday.
The first period would prove to end in favor of the Cardinals, who netted the only goal of the opening 20 minutes.
Colin Tushie (Prior Lake, Minn.) got SMU on the board at 16:50 of the opening frame, with an assist from
Warner Young (Newberry, Mich.). And with goaltender
Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) stopping all 12 Raider shots, the Cardinals would hold on to their 1-0 lead as they headed into the first intermission.
The Cardinals' 1-0 lead did not last long as the second period commenced, as the Raiders gained a power-play advantage early in the stanza that Kyle Herbster turned into a goal for MSOE. Less than three minutes later, Christian Sabin would find the back of the net, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead.
But the Cardinals weren't fazed in the least.
Callahan Nauss (Maple Plain, Minn.) grabbed a second goal for SMU at 9:27, off of an assist from
Kellen Tharaldson (Wausau, Wis.), to knot the game at 2-2.
And with less than 30 seconds remaining in the period, Tushie scored his second goal of the night — with assists from
Bud Winter (St. Louis, Mo.) and
Gabe Potyk (Lake Orion, Mich.) — to give SMU a 3-2 lead as the two teams headed into the final break.
It took until the 17:52 mark in the third period for another goal to be scored — unfortunately for the Cardinals, it would be a second goal by Sabin, bringing the game to yet another tie at 3-3.
Thomas Magnavite (Chicago, Ill.) wasn't about to let the game head into overtime, scoring just 30 seconds later to put SMU back in front, 4-3. The Raiders pulled goalie Nick Stofchek for the extra attacker in a last-ditch attempt to score. Instead,
Trevor Schroder (Des Moines, Iowa) would take advantage of the Raiders' empty net and feathered the puck the length of the ice and into the net with under five seconds left to secure an exciting 5-3 Cardinal triumph.
Sankner made 22 saves in goal for SMU.
The Cardinals (3-3-0 MIAC, 5-6-1 overall) — winners of four straight — are back on the ice in the new year, facing off against Lawrence University on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7:00 p.m. in Appleton, Wis.
