MOORHEAD, Minn. — It took more than 81 minutes to determine a winner the last time the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota and Concordia men's hockey teams squared off—as the Cardinals beat the Cobbers 4-3 in double overtime in a conference playoff semifinal game a year ago.
 
No overtime was needed when the two teams squared off Friday evening at the Moorhead Sports Center.
 
And that was not good new for the Cardinals.
 
Concordia erupted for three goals in a three-minute span in the second period, breaking away from a 2-2 tie and handing the Cardinals a 6-3 setback—Saint Mary's first conference loss of the season.
 
"It just wasn't out night," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore, whose Cardinals had their eight-game unbeaten streak snapped with the loss. "Give Concordia credit, they played very well. We just never seemed to get our feet under us.
 
The Cobbers didn't waste any time getting on the board—1:20, to be exact—as Garrett Hendrickson beat Saint Mary's goalie Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) for his first goal of the season.
 
And Concordia wasn't finished with its early game offensive barrage, as Jordan Christianson pushed the Cobber lead to 2-0 exactly five minutes later.
 
Saint Mary's cut the deficit in half at 17:03, as Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) took a feed from Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) and beat CC goalie Alex Reichle for his sixth goal of the season.
 
Cesarz would pull the Cardinals even with a shorthanded goal at 7:07 of the second period. But in a span of three minutes, that 2-2 nailbiter turned into a 5-2 Cobber advantage, as Concordia's Jake Zelleznikar sandwiched a pair of goals around one by teammate Charlie Aus to give CC a three-goal cushion heading into the third period.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, there would be no third-period heroics, as the two teams traded goals—CC's coming from Jake Stilwell, while Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) scored his team-leading 10th of the season for the Cardinals.
 
Phil Heinle (York, Pa.) finished with 30 saves in goal for the Cardinals—including 16 in the second period—while Reichle recorded 27 saves in goal for the Cobbers.
 
The Cardinals (3-1-1 MIAC, 6-3-2 overall) and Cobbers are back on the ice on Saturday, squaring off in the second game of their two-game conference series at the Moorhead Sports Center. Opening face-off is set for 2 p.m.