ASHLAND, Wis. — There's something about staring at a daunting second-period deficit that seems to light a fire under the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team.
 
For the second straight game, the Cardinals found themselves playing catch-up in their nonconference game against Northland Friday evening.
 
After scoring a combined six goals in the second and third periods to erase a two-goal deficit in a 6-3 win over Lawrence on Tuesday, Saint Mary's was at it again on Friday — this time spotting host Northland a three-goal, second-period advantage.
 
 And for the second time in as many games, the Cardinals would pull off the come-from-behind win, getting a goal from Callahan Nauss (Maple Plain, Minn.) at 3:08 overtime to lift Saint Mary's to a 5-4 win over the Lumberjacks at the Bay Arena Civic Center.

With the win, the red-hot Cardinals pushed their winning streak to six in a row — the longest since the 2005-06 season, when SMU posted six straight wins. After opening the season 1-6-1, Saint Mary's has rattled off wins over Lawrence (3-1), Gustavus (4-1 & 4-3), MSOE (5-3), Lawrence (6-3), and Northland (5-4 OT). … Saint Mary's five-game win streak is its

After a scoreless first period, in which, Northland out-shot the Cardinals 12-9, it would be t3he Lumberjacks who struck first, scoring just 2:47 into the middle frame on a goal by Max Collette.
 
 Three minutes later, the Lumberjacks would strike again, this time when Parker Severson banged a rebound past Cardinal goalie A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.).
 
Once again forcing the Cardinals to climb out of a two-goal hole.
 
Make that a three-goal hole.
 
Northland's Ty Brown tipped a Zach Ross shot over the shoulder of Ruskowski for the Lumberjacks' third goal in the first eight minutes of the second period — and a commanding 3-0 advantage.
 
Saint Mary's cut into the Lumberjacks' lead three minutes after Brown's tally, when Laudon Poellinger (La Crescent, Minn.) scored his third goal of the season on the power play to get the Cardinals within two, 3-1.
 
Just minutes after killing off a five-minute major penalty, Saint Mary's would make it a one-goal game, as Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia — coming off his first collegiate hat trick against Lawrence on Tuesday — corralled a loose puck in front of the Lumberjacks' goal and beat NC goalie Kenny Vought to make it 3-2 heading into the third period.
 
The teams would trade goals in the first 12 minutes of the third period — Northland's coming from Bryson Cecconi and SMU's from Kasyn Kruse (Luverne, Minn.) — leaving the Cardinals still searching for the game-tying tally.
 
With less than four minutes to play in regulation, the search was over.
 
 Colin Tushie (Prior Lake, Minn.) scored for the second straight game — a sizzling wrist shot from the left circle that eluded Vought and pulled Saint Mary's even, 4-4.
 
Setting up Nauss' overtime heroics.
 
Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.J.) made 13 saves in 18:34 minutes of work, before leaving due to an injury. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) came on to make 26 saves in relief.
 
The Cardinals (7-6-1 overall) close out the nonconference portion of their schedule on Saturday, heading to Hobbs Ice Arena in Eau Claire, Wis., for a 7 p.m. matchup against UW-Eau Claire.
  Read Full Article