WINONA, Minn. — The last time the Saint Mary's University and Lawrence women's hockey teams met, the Cardinals put on a dominating display at both ends of the rink in a two-game, nonconference sweep.
 
How dominating?
 
Saint Mary's outscored the Vikings 11-0 — winning 3-0 and 8-0 — and boasted a combined 121-28 advantage in shots on goal,  including 28-1 in the first period of Game 1 and 26-5 in the second period of Game 2. The Cardinals' 59 shots on goal in the first game ranked No. 6 all-time, while their 62 shots the following afternoon are tied for No. 3 all-time.
 
And Tuesday afternoon — bolstered by a five-game winning streak and a No. 13 national ranking — the Cardinals were once again at their dominating selves.
 
After the opening three minutes, that is.
 
Lawrence scored on its first shot on goal 1:04 into the opening period, only to have the Cardinals responded with four unanswered goals — and finished with a whopping 62-9 advantage in shots on goal — in dealing the Vikings a 4-1 nonconference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
With the win, the Cardinals — who have now won six straight — pushed their overall record to 13-4-0 overall, their most wins since the 2003-04 season, when SMU finished 15-9-3.
 
The Vikings scored their first-ever goal against the Cardinals before the fans in the stands could even get comfortable, as Lauren Askenazy beat SMU goalie Celeste Rimstad (Richfield, Minn.) with LU's first shot on goal to grab a 1-0 lead.
 
A lead that lasted less than two minutes.
 
Taverie Sherner (Maple Grove, Minn.) netted the equalizer, her fourth of the season, at 3:46, and the Cardinal offense continually peppered LU goalie Sarah Dobrzynski with first-period shots — outshooting the Vikings in the opening stanza 24-3 — but could only come away with Sherner's lone tally.
 
SMU continued to swarm the Viking net, finally grabbing its first lead of the game – on its 29th shot on goal — when Sidney Polzin (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) whistled a wrist shot past Dobrzynski 8:51 into the middle frame.
 
Sophia Paduano (Westby, Wis.) gave the Cardinals a little second-period breathing room, netting her ninth of the year — and extending her goal-scoring streak to six consecutive games with a goal — with 3:48 remaining providing Saint Mary's a 3-1 cushion heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
Ella Ausman (Chippewa Falls, Wis.) scored SMU's fourth unanswered goal — her first as a Cardinal — tapping in a goal-mouth pass to complete a perfect tic-tac-toe passing combination with Paduano and Kas Kingston (Black Diamond, Alberta) with less than nine minutes to play in regulation to make it 4-1.
 
Saint Mary's launched 14 more shots Dobrzynski's way over the game's final 20 minutes — not to mention a Mikayla Vasilevich (Chicago, Ill.) laser that clanked off the left post midway through the frame — en route to their 62-shot total, marking the second straight year in which SMU pelted LU with 62 shots on goal.
 
SMU returns to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play this weekend with a pair of games against Bethel. The Cardinals will head to Bethel Arena in Blaine, Minn., for Friday's 7 p.m. match with the Royals, before the two teams return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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