BLAINE, Minn. — Heading into Saturday's game against Bethel, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team's offense has been running in overdrive over the last three games—scoring five goals in back-to-back-to-back wins over St. Scholastica, Northland and Bethel.
 
And thanks to Martin Gruse (Trenton, Mich.), the Cardinals were at it again on Saturday evening.
 
Gruse scored four unanswered goals—becoming the first Cardinal since Mike Glaesmer in the 2008-09 season to net four goals in a game—to lead Saint Mary's to its fifth straight five-goal game, a second consecutive 5-2 win over Bethel Saturday at the Schwan's Super Rink.
 
"This was a big, big weekend for us," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "The guys put together a pair of complete, 60-minute games—and came away with two huge wins.
 
"You've got to tip your cap to Marty—to score four goals … that's amazing," Moore added. "But these wins were absolutely a team effort—everyone had a hand in getting us these six (conference) points."
 
Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) got the Cardinals on the board first—scoring for the third straight night—just six minutes into the opening period.
 
The Royals netted the equalizer when Mitch Hughes slipped a shot past Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) with six minutes remaining in the second period.
 
But Gruse wasn't about to let the Cardinals head into the third period tied, as the sophomore scored the first of his four goals with 19 seconds remaining in the middle period to give Saint Mary's a 2-1 advantage.
 
And Gruse and the Cardinals were just getting warmed up, as Saint Mary's scored three times in the third period—all off the stick of Gruse—to secure the win, and the all-important two-game conference sweep.
 
With his four-goal performance on Saturday, Gruse has now posted 14 points in the Cardinals' last six games—including his first collegiate hat trick against St. Scholastica on Jan. 9 and his first collegiate four-goal game against Bethel on Saturday.
 
While Gruse was working his magic on the offensive end, Heinle was doing his part on the defensive end, stopping 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Matt Rowe finished with 28 saves between the pipes for Bethel.
 
The Cardinals (2-2-2 MIAC, 7-6-2 overall) return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena next Friday, hosting Gustavus in a 7 p.m. conference contest. The two teams will then travel to St. Peter, Minn., for Game 2 of their two-game MIAC series—a 7 p.m. matchup—on Saturday.