LAKE FOREST, Ill. — In a wild Friday night matchup that had a little bit of everything to kick off the 2025-26 season, the Saint Mary's men's hockey team (0-0-1) battled Lake Forest (0-0-1) to a 5–5 draw, then came out on top in a two-round shootout, 2–1 winning on the fourth attempt.

The opening period was fast and physical, with both teams trading early chances. Lake Forest got on the board first, but Saint Mary's answered quickly. Joona Juntunen buried an unassisted power-play goal at 8:17 to even the score for the first goal of the season. The Foresters regained the lead late in the frame with a power-play tally from Jared Kaplowitz, but the Cardinals had the final word, Juntunen struck again, this time short-handed at 2:04, sending the game into the first intermission tied 2–2.

The Cardinals lit up the second period with three goals to take the lead and finished the night 3-for-5 on the power play.

Colin Tushie's power-play goal tied the game in the second period early, and just over a minute later he buried another to give the Cardinals their first lead. Kyle Arias added a late power-play tally to make it 5–4 heading into the third for his first career goal.

Lake Forest refused to go quietly, tying things up at 5–5 with just 1:33 remaining in regulation. Overtime saw both sides trade chances where Robert Bymers came up clutch with several key stops but neither team could find the game-winner.

In the shootout, the drama continued. 

After falling behind early, missing the first two attempts, the Cardinals rallied as Tushie and Paden Hicks both converted their attempts. Bymers then slammed the door, denying Lake Forest's final two shooters to seal the 2–1 shootout win.

Saint Mary's continues nonconference play tomorrow with a rematch against the Foresters at 4:00 p.m.