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FOND DU LAC, Wis. — It certainly wasn't the way Saint Mary's University men's hockey coach Bill Moore was hoping to head into the Christmas break.

Not only did the Cardinals drop the final game of the 2010 portion of their 25-game schedule — falling to Marian 4-1 in a nonconference game Friday evening — but a first-period collision may have also cost SMU starting goalie Andy Scheib (Sun Prairie, Wis.) for the rest of the season.

Scheib — who entered the game with a team-best 2.42 goals-against-average and a .929 save percentage — injured his knee early in the first period, when he was steamrolled by a Marian player during a Sabres' rush.

Chase Marshall (Maple Grove, Minn.) got the Cardinals off on the right foot, scoring his second goal of the season three minutes into the opening period, but Marian would score three times after Scheib left the game, as the Sabres took a 3-1 advantage into the locker room after the game's opening 20 minutes of play.

The Sabres would push their lead to 4-1 with the only goal of the second period, and the Cardinals could not answer.

Scheib stopped all eight shots he faced before leaving the game with 13:07 remaining in the opening period, while Jason Horstman (Faribault, Minn.) finished with 40 saves in relief. The Cardinals, meanwhile, managed just 16 shots on Marian goalie Josh Baker, who highlighted his 16-save effort by stopping Mike Schaber (Blaine, Minn.) on a second-period penalty shot.

The Cardinals (3-8 overall) are now off until Jan. 7-8, when they hit the road for their final two nonconference games of the season — Jan. 7 at UW-River Falls and Jan. 8 and UW-Eau Claire.