WINONA, Minn. — Scoring goals against Gustavus has been a tall order for teams this season. In fact, through the first five games of the season, it had been downright impossible.
 
The defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Gusties entered Friday's game against the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team riding a 16-game winning streak and had allowed just one goal through their first five games — including shutouts in each of their last four contests.
 
The Cardinals, however, would not be intimidated by GAC's gaudy resume — promptly putting an end to the Gusties' lengthy, 258-minute shutout streak with a goal midway through the first period.
 
Unfortunately, that first-period goal would be the only one Saint Mary's would muster, while the Gusties rattled off three unanswered goals in holding off the upset-minded Cardinals 3-1 at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
After a tightly-contested defensive battle through the game's first 10 minutes, the Cardinals were the first to break the ice, as Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta) took a feed from Jordy Wyant (Winnipeg, Manitoba) at the top of the left face-off circle and whistled a wrist shot over the left shoulder of GAC goalie Katie McCoy to give SMU a 1-0 lead.
 
And just like that, for the first time this season, the Gusties found themselves having to play catch-up.
 
Gustavus peppered the Cardinal net with 12 shots in the opening 20 minutes, but thanks to the play of Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) between the pipes for the Saint Mary's, the Cardinals would cling to that 1-0 advantage at the first intermission.
 
The Gusties, still smarting from that first-period Cardinal goal, came out flying to open the second period, outshooting SMU 9-1 through the first 8:03 — including Kaitlyn Holland's wrister on the power play at 4:29 that beat Rimstad and pulled Gustavus even, 1-1.
 
Gustavus took advantage of another Cardinal penalty early in the third period, scoring its second power-play goal of the game — this one off the stick of Brooke Power — to give the Gusties their first lead of the game, 2-1, with 13:30 to play.
 
Hailey Holland gave the top-ranked Gusties a little breather room, beating Rimstad with GAC's third straight goal midway through the final frame. Saint Mary's had several great scoring chances down the stretch, but could not find the back of the net in falling for just the third time in their first 10 games.
 
Rimstad finished with 37 saves for the Cardinals — just five saves shy of her career-high 42-save effort against UW-River Falls earlier this season — while McCoy kicked out 14 of the 15 shots SMU sent her way.
 
The Cardinals (3-2-0 MIAC, 7-3-0 overall) and Gusties will go at it again on Saturday, heading to the Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter, Minn., for the 2 p.m. rematch.
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