MOORHEAD, Minn. — With just two games remaining in the regular season, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team's path to an MIAC Playoff berth boiled down to a case of simple math: 2 games + 3 points = 1 post-season invitation.
 
Saint Mary's used a different equation to reach the same result: 1 game + 4 goals + 45 saves = 1 post-season invitation.
 
The Cardinals scored four goals — including one just 17 seconds into the opening period — and got a 45-save effort from A.J. Ruskowski (Traverse City, Mich.) in dealing the Concordia a 4-3 setback Friday evening at the Moorhead Sports Center.
 
With the win, and St. Olaf's loss to Gustavus, the Cardinals leap-frogged both the Oles and idle Saint John's into fourth place in the conference standings — sealing their second MIAC post-season appearance in the last three years.
 
If Saint Mary's wins, ties, or loses in overtime/shootout against Concordia in the team's rematch on Saturday, the Cardinals will be the No. 4 seed and will host the MIAC quarterfinal game next Wednesday. If St. Olaf wins in regulation (23 points) and Saint Mary's loses to the Cobbers (22 points), the Oles will be No. 4 and Saint Mary's will be No. 5. If St. Olaf wins in overtime/shootout (22 points) and Saint Mary's loses in regulation (22 points), Saint Mary's will be No. 4 and St. Olaf will be No. 5 due to head-to-head tiebreaker.
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A year ago, SMU found itself in a similar situation, needing a pair of wins against Concordia to secure a spot in the five-team playoff field, only to come up empty with 7-1 and 4-1 losses.
 
This time around, the Cardinals were not about to suffer the same fate.
 
Saint Mary's wasted no time — literally — grabbing the momentum, scoring just 17 seconds after the opening face-off on a goal by Nikita Sheberov (Obninsk, Russia). Jack Campion (Crystal, Minn.) would give the Cardinals a two-goal cushion with his second of the season at 13:58 of the opening frame.
 
The Cardinals extended their lead to 3-0 just three minutes into the second period, thanks to Nathan Solis's (Saline, Mich.) first goal of the season — and it appeared as if the Cardinals would be cruising their way into the post-season.
 
That wouldn't be the case, however, as Concordia sandwiched a pair of goals in the final 9:55 of the middle frame around Jake Vaughan's (Colorado Springs, Colo.) shorthanded tally for the Cardinals, to make it a 4-2 SMU advantage heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
The Cobbers made it a one-goal game on a goal by Joe Harguindeguy just 6:18 into the third period, forcing the Cardinals to white-knuckle their way through the final 13:42 clinging to that one-goal cushion en route to the win.
 
Ruskowski — the reigning MIAC Defensive Player of the Week — certainly did his part to preserve the victory, making 17 third-period saves and finishing the evening stopping 45 of the Cobbers' 48 shots on goal.
 
The Cardinals (7-7-1 MIAC, 9-13-2 overall) will return to the Moorhead Sports Center in Moorhead, Minn., on Saturday for the second game of their two-game series against the Cobbers. Opening face-off is slated for 2 p.m.
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