WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University women's hockey team has been unbeatable in the game's opening 20 minutes this season.
 
In fact, thanks to their 1-0 scoring advantage in the first period against St. Olaf on Saturday, the Cardinals have not allowed a first-period goal this season.
 
It's the second and third periods that have been giving the Cardinals fits.
 
Saint Mary's surrendered four goals over the game's final two periods Saturday, as St. Olaf rattled off three unanswered goals in handing the Cardinals a 4-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
Jesse Cwik (Chicago, Ill.) got the Cardinals off and running six minutes into the opening period, scoring her third goal of the season off an assist from Natalie Ryan (Coon Rapids, Minn.) for a quick 1-0 Saint Mary's lead.
 
A lead the Cardinals would maintain until early in the second period, when Anya Hafiz (Woodbury, Minn.) worked her offensive magic—again
 
Hafiz took a feed from Jamie Henderson (Madison, Wis.), slipped past an Ole defender and ripped a shot between the pads of St. Olaf goalie Cassie Alexander for her team-leading sixth goal of the season—and a 2-0 Cardinal lead.
 
The Saint Mary's penalty killing unit did its part in preserving that two-goal advantage, killing off three second-period penalties—including a nearly two-minute 5-on-3 St. Olaf power play midway through the middle stanza.
 
St. Olaf finally broke through the stingy Cardinal defense with less than five minutes remaining in the second, as Becky Weingarten banged a rebound over the shoulder of Cardinal goalie Marah Shields (Mitford, Mich.) to cut the Cardinal lead to one, 2-1.
 
And that goal seemed to open the offensive floodgates, as the teams combined to score two more goals before the period ended.
 
Exactly one minute after Weingarten's goal, Henderson scored her fourth of the season to push the Saint Mary's lead back to two, 3-1, only to have St. Olaf answer less than two minutes later to make it a 3-2 contest heading into the game's final period.
 
A period that belonged to the Oles.
 
St. Olaf would net the game-tying goal at 11:16 of the third, as Xandi Swedberg corralled a loose puck in front of the Cardinal net and lifted a shot over a fallen Shields to knot the game at 3-3.
 
Three minutes later, the Oles found themselves with their first lead of the game, getting a power-play goal from Johanna Glaaser to give St. Olaf a 4-3 cushion with 5:31 remaining in regulation.
 
The Cardinals had several chances over the final five minutes, but could not get the equalizer past Alexander.
 
Shields finished with 32 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while Alexander made 22 saves between the pipes for the Oles.
 
Saint Mary's (1-2-1 MIAC, 3-2-1 overall) are now off until next Saturday, when they entertain UW-Eau Claire in a 4 p.m. nonconference game at the Saint Mary's Ice Arena.