NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Playing nailbiters has become the norm for the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team this season.
 
After all, heading into Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference showdown against St. Olaf, all seven of the Cardinals' games had been decided by two goals or less—including the Cardinals' 4-3 victory over the Oles in the teams' first meeting on Friday.
 
The Cardinals decided to veer away from the norm in their conference rematch with the Oles, scoring single goals in all three periods—and riding the shutout goaltending of Phil Heinle (York, Pa.)—en route to a 3-0, sweeping-clinching win at the Northfield Ice Arena.
 
"Playing (at the Northfield Ice Arena) is always tough," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore," whose team entered Saturday's game against the Oles just 2-12-1 in its last 15 games at the Northfield Ice Arena, including 4-4 tie last year and a 5-3 win two years ago—a win that snapped a nine-game losing streak on the Oles' home ice. "And tonight we came in and took care of business—anytime you can put together back-to-back wins in this conference, that's a pretty good weekend of work."
 
Bob Kinne (St. Paul, Minn.) netted an unassisted tally with less than three minutes remaining in the first period to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead through the game's opening 20 minutes of play.
 
Less than two minutes after killing off a two-minute, 5-on-3 St. Olaf power play, the Cardinals struck again midway through the second period, pushing their lead to 2-0 on goal by Dylan Robertson (Alpharetta, Ga.)—his first in a Cardinal uniform.
 
And the Cardinals maintained that two-goal advantage until three minutes into the third period, when Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.)—who scored twice in the Cardinals' 4-3 win over St. Olaf on Friday night—netted his third of the series and fourth of the season to give Saint Mary's a commanding three-goal cushion, 3-0.
 
With Heinle between the pipes, three goals was more than enough cushion, as the Cardinal senior stopped all 25 shots he faced in recorded his fourth career shutout—and first since posting a 34-save effort against Augsburg on Feb. 6, 2015.
 
With the win—the Cardinals' fifth straight—Saint Mary's moved into sole possession of first place in the conference standings with a perfect 4-0-0 mark, while improving to 5-1-2 overall. It marks the first time since 1997-98 that the Cardinals have won their first four conference games.
 
The Cardinals put their five-game winning streak on the line on Tuesday, traveling to Milwaukee, Wis., for a 2 p.m. nonconference game against Milwaukee School of Engineering.