WINONA, Minn. — St. Scholastica men's hockey opened their MIAC series against Saint Mary's University on Friday evening, falling 3-2 despite outshooting the Cardinals 44-26.

After a scoreless first period, Saint Mary's struck first with a power-play goal at 3:43 of the second period. The Saints responded shortly after when Evan Pahos (Parker, CO/) evened the score at 9:17, assisted by Luke McCarthy (Cottage Grove, MN/Park HS) and Hunter Hanson (Blaine, MN/Blaine HS). The Cardinals quickly answered, scoring twice within the next minute to take a 3-1 advantage into the third period.

St. Scholastica pushed hard throughout the final frame, outshooting the Cardinals 18-7. Matej Palfy (Kosice, Slovakia/Gymnasium Trebisovska) pulled the Saints within one with a power-play goal with just over a minute remaining. This comeback fell short, however, as Saint Mary's held in the final seconds to come away with a 3-2 victory.

Eino Rissanen (Sonvillier, Switzerland/Lycée Blaise-Cendrars) made 23 saves for the Saints. Pahos led the offense with six shots on goal in addition to a goal, while Wyatt Wurst (Edina, MN/Edina HS) and Isaac Suppin (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada/George Elliot Secondary) also recorded six shots in the game.

The Saints (4-15-1, 1-9-1 MIAC) will remain in Winona for game two of the series on Saturday, January 31. Puck drop is scheduled for 2 p.m. as the Saints seek their first win since the beginning of the month.