MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — When it comes to the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team's two-game Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference series against Augsburg, home has not been too sweet—to either team.
 
In their last five meetings—including Friday's 4-1 Augsburg victory at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena—the visiting team has come away victorious.
 
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that trend did not continue when the two teams squared off at the Auggies' Ed Saugestad Rink.
 
Augsburg scored two goals in the second period and three more in the third in handing the Cardinals a 5-0 conference setback Saturday evening.
 
"I don't think the final score was really indicative of the game," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "I give our guys a ton of credit—they battled and played hard for 60 minutes.
 
"We're just in some sort of offensive funk right now—early in the year we are scoring goals in bunches, and now, all of the sudden, we can't seem to buy a goal."
 
After a scoreless first period, the Auggies kicked their offense into gear, getting goals from Nate Flynn just 1:13 into the second period and Eli May 11 minutes later, to grab a 2-0 advantage through 40 minutes of play.
 
And that was just the start of the offensive fireworks for the Auggies.
 
Augsburg would tack on three more goals in the third period—including back-to-back tallies by Chris Nuth and Lukas Gillett in the game's final two minutes—to seal the win and remain atop the conference standings.
 
Jake Hebda (Firestone, Colo.) finished with 28 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Augsburg's Jordyn Kaufer stopped all 29 Saint Mary's shots to record the shutout.
 
The Cardinals (5-6-1 MIAC, 8-11-2 overall) are back on the road on Friday, heading to Gustavus' Don Roberts Ice Arena in St. Peter, Minn., for a 7:05 p.m. conference game against the Gusties. The teams will then return to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena on Saturday for the 7 p.m. rematch.