BLAINE, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team was good defensively in its season-opener Saturday evening against Saint John's, allowing the Johnnies just a single goal.
 
Problem was, the Johnnie defense was even better, as Saint John's goalie Mac Berglove stopped all 30 Cardinal shots he faced in leading SJU to a 1-0 victory over Saint Mary's in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink.
 
"I thought we played very well, we just couldn't capitalize on any of the chances we created," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore, whose Cardinals played 11 games decided by one goal or less a year ago. "It was a good college hockey game—both teams had their share of chances—(Saint John's) was just able to convert on one of theirs, and that was the difference in the game."
 
The Johnnies got on the board at 7:44 of the opening period, as Huba Sekesi took a feed from Matt Collord and beat Saint Mary's goalie Aaron Davis (Mound, Minn.) for a 1-0 SJU advantage.
 
From there, it was all goaltending, as Davis and Berglove did their best impressions of brick walls, stopping everything that was thrown at them.
 
Davis finished with 24 saves in goal for the Cardinals—including 10 saves in the second period—while Berglove made 11 saves in each of the first two periods and added eight third-period saves in recording the shutout.
 
The Cardinals (0-1-0 overall) are right back in action on Sunday, squaring off against Bethel at 3 p.m. in the third day of the MIAC Hockey Showcase at the Schwan's Super Rink.