WINONA, Minn. - For the second consecutive night, the Saint Mary's men's hockey team (7-7-1) fell short in overtime. The Cardinals battled the UW-River Falls Falcons (10-7) on Saturday night but were defeated 4-3 in extra time.
 
Laudon Poellinger stood out for the Cardinals with a power-play goal, contributing one goal and a total of four shots. Liam McInnis also made a significant impact with one goal and one assist, leading to two points for the team. Carter Newpower matched McInnis's performance with one goal and one assist, adding two points to his tally. 
 
The first period between Saint Mary's and River Falls began with a series of faceoffs predominantly won by UW-River Falls. Despite multiple attempts, the Falcons were unable to capitalize on their shots early in the period, with several missed attempts and saves by the Cardinals goalie, AJ Ruskowski. As the period was winding down, the Falcons broke the stalemate with a goal with seven seconds remaining to close the period with a 1-0 lead.
 
The Cardinals capitalized on a power play late in the second period, with Poellinger scoring at 1:27, assisted by Newpower and McInnis, to tie the game at 1-1. The period ended with multiple missed shots by both teams, and the score remained even going into the final period.
The third period between the Cardinals and the Falcons began with the Falcons maintaining early control, winning multiple faceoffs and scoring at 17:44 bringing their lead to 2-1.
 
The Cardinals responded promptly with a goal by McInnis, assisted by Joona Juntunen, at 16:05 to tie the game. 
 
At 08:26, Newpower put the Cardinals ahead with a goal, assisted by Colin Tushie and Tyler Lafferty, making it 3-2. However, with just 1:24 left in the period, UW-River Falls equalized, as the Falcons scored with an extra attacker on the ice concluding the period at 3-3.
 
The overtime period started with UW-River Falls winning the initial faceoff, leading to a missed shot just 11 seconds in. The Cardinals responded with a shot by Tushie at the 30-second mark being saved. The Falcons secured the game-winning goal 1:42 into the overtime period sending the Cardinals back to the locker room and secured a 4-3 victory.
 
The Cardinals will be back on the ice Thursday, January 23rd, for a 7 p.m. matchup at St. John's.