BLAINE, Minn. — For Saint Mary’s University men’s hockey coach Bill Moore, Friday’s Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Bethel looked eerily similar to their Jan. 9 game against UW-River Falls.
And their Jan. 3 game against Wesleyan.
For the third time in their last six games, the Cardinals entered the third period Friday with the lead, clinging to a 4-3 advantage against the Royals.
When the final horn sounded, however, the third period had again been SMU’s Achilles’ heel, as Bethel scored twice in the final 20 minutes — including the game-winner with 2:43 remaining — as the Royals edged the Cardinals 5-4 in a conference game at the Schwan’s Super Rink.
“It’s the same thing, over and over again,” said a frustrated SMU coach Bill Moore. “We have to learn how to win. Every time we have a lead, we seem to panic when the other team applies any type of pressure. Guys are trying to do other people’s jobs and before you know it, someone’s open in front and they’re putting it in the back of the net.”
Bethel got on the board first on a goal by Lukas Jorgensen five minutes into the opening period, but the Cardinals responded with back-to-back goals by
Jeff Miller (Portage, Mich.) and
Will Such (Broomfield, Colo.) five minutes apart to take a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.
The Royals would tie things at 2-2 at 14:59, but again the Cardinals responded, as
Mike Glaesmer (Traverse City, Mich.) scored 30 seconds later to give SMU a 3-2 edge heading into the locker room after 20 minutes.
Nick Carlson (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) pushed the SMU lead to 4-2 with a power play goal 10 minutes into the second period, but the Royals would answer, as Jake Kogler scored the first of his two goals with 40 seconds remaining in the period.
Kogler would add goal No. 2 5:48 into the third period to tie the game at 4-4, and Jack Paul would complete the Royals’ comeback, beating SMU goalie
Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) with just 2:43 remaining in regulation.
“It’s disappointing,” said Moore, whose team gets another shot at the Royals — this time on the Cardinals’ home ice — as SMU hosts Bethel in a 7 p.m. contest Saturday evening at the SMU Ice Arena. “We’ve got to find a way to hang on to the lead. To go into the third period with the lead three times since Christmas — and lose all three — that’s frustrating.”