WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's men's hockey team (14-9-2, 10-5-1 MIAC) erupted for four third-period goals to pull away from Augsburg University (7-15-3, 4-10-2 MIAC) in a commanding 7-3 win Saturday night.

After trading blows through the first two periods, the Cardinals turned up the pressure late, outshooting Augsburg 46-28 and cashing in once on the power play to seal the victory.

It was a milestone night for Jack Campion, who recorded his first collegiate hat trick. Campion scored three times, including the go-ahead goal early in the third period and an empty-netter to cap it off.

The Cardinals came out flying, controlling faceoffs and generating steady offensive pressure. After Augsburg struck first, Joona Juntunen answered midway through the period off feeds from Cole Mickel and Carter Newpower. Augsburg briefly regained the edge, but Ben Polomsky knotted things up again before Campion buried a late first-period goal to send Saint Mary's into the break with a 3-2 advantage.

Augsburg evened the score early in the second on a power-play goal, and despite relentless pressure from the Cardinals, the game remained tied at 3-3 heading into the final period.

That's when Saint Mary's took over.

Campion broke the deadlock at 11:11 of the third, finishing off a setup from Newpower and Mickel to swing the momentum for good. Moments later, Paden Hicks capitalized on the power play to stretch the lead to 5-3. Campion completed his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal, and Adler Johnston added one more in the closing seconds to put an exclamation point on the 7-3 triumph.

With the win, Saint Mary's now turns its attention to the postseason. 

No. 2 Gustavus Adolphus College (12-4-0) will host No. 3 Saint Mary's (10-5-1) in MIAC semifinal action on Saturday, Feb. 28. The Gusties claimed five of six possible points in the teams' regular-season showdown in January. Puck drop for Saturday's semifinal contest is set for 5:00 p.m.