NORTHFIELD, Minn. — It's been a long time since the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team had last competed.
 
Thirty-eight days, to be exact.
 
But the lengthy layoff had no ill effects on the Cardinals' high-octane offense, as Saint Mary's — which hadn't played since routing the University Dubuque 7-0 on Dec. 5 — got scoring from five different players in cruising to a 5-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over St. Olaf Friday at the St. Olaf Ice Arena.
 
While the Cardinals were working out a few early-game kinks, the Oles would strike first, getting a goal from Sophie McBane midway through the opening period. Less than five minutes later, the Cardinals were net the equalizer, as Celia Midtbo (Minneapolis, Minn.) found the back of the net on the power play to knot the game at 1-1.
 
Saint Mary's grabbed its first lead of the evening six minutes into the second period, thanks to Allie Urlaub (Burnsville, Minn.). Urlaub, who assisted on Midtbo's first-period goal, netted her fourth of the season beating, beating St. Olaf goalie Hannah Fritz at 6:23 of the middle frame.
 
The lead, however, lasted just two minutes, as Julia Larson converted on the power play to pull the Oles back even at 2-2.
 
The long lay-off did nothing to slow down the Cardinal sharpshooter Reese Heitzman (Hermantown, Minn.), who gave the Cardinals the lead for good with 1:01 left in the second period, scoring her team-leading 12th goal of the season to put SMU in front, 3-2 heading into the second intermission.
 
Saint Mary's took control in the game's final 20 minutes, getting back-to-back goals from Teagan Phillips (Oregon, Wis.) and Sophia Paduano (Westby, Wis.) four minutes apart to extend SMU's lead to 5-2 with less than seven minutes to play.
 
And a three-goal cushion was more than enough for the Cardinals, who collected their second straight win.
 
Along with their goals, Midtbo and Paduano also collected a pair of assists en route to three-point nights, while Urlaub, Heitzman and Kenzie Meland also picked up assists. Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) did her part between the pipes, kicking out 15 of the Oles' 17 shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals (4-3-0 MIAC, 9-4-0 overall) and Oles are right back in action on Saturday, when they head to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for the 2 p.m. rematch in their two-game MIAC series.
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