By EMILY LOOF
Saint Mary's Sports Information Intern
 
WINONA, Minn. — After being swept last weekend in a pair of home games in which they gave up an uncharacteristically high 11 goals, the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team was hoping to turn things around in their last game before the Christmas break.
 
And they succeeded in that effort—sort of—as the Cardinals battled Lawrence to a 2-2 nonconference stalemate Wednesday evening at Saint Mary's Ice Arena.
 
"I thought we played a very solid game tonight," said Saint Mary's coach Bill Moore. "The frustrating part is, we dominated play—outshooting (Lawrence) 43-15—only to come away with a tie.
 
"That's the second game in a row we've held a big advantage in shots on goal and neither time was that enough to get us a win."
 
Much like the two teams' last meeting—which was in 2013—Wednesday's game became a battle of special teams, with three out of the game's four goals coming on the power play or penalty kill.
 
The Vikings struck first on a shorthanded goal off the stick of Josh Koepplinger near the halfway point of the first period—and the Vikings would maintain that 1-0 lead heading into the locker room after the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
After a quiet end to the first frame, the Vikings kept knocking—Koepplinger nearly had his second of the game on a shot that rang off the pipe early in the second period.
 
The Cardinals, however, were not about to throw in the towel.
 
Just minutes after the Vikings' narrow miss, Kellen Wasell (Edmonds, Wash.) lasered a shot past Vikings' goaltender Evan Cline on the power play to tie the game 1-1 at 7:57. Jack Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.) and Jay Heinle (York, Pa.) were credited with the assists.
 
And the special teams battle was far from over.
 
The Vikings regained the lead with a power play goal by Zach Satalino at 16:06 of the second period, and the score would hold for the remainder of the second frame, leaving Lawrence with a 2-1 edge heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.
 
Chad Cesarz (Jackson, Mich.) then revived the Saint Mary's offense—and the home crowd—with a snipe from the point off a pass by Wasell at 6:27 of the third period. Cesarz's goal was the only even-strength goal of the game.
 
Cesarz nearly had his second of the game just four minutes after his first, but his rebound shot bounced off the crossbar. After yet another slew of penalties, the Cardinals appeared to have netted the game-winner with 41 seconds left in regulation, but the goal was disallowed due to high-sticking.
 
The overtime period was a nail-biter for the home crowd, particularly when Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) broke his stick on a slapshot high in the Cardinals' offensive zone, sending a Lawrence player on a breakaway. Thanks to a speedy backcheck by a stick-less Meeh and a composed save by Cardinal goaltender Al Rogers (North Haven, Conn.), however, Saint Mary's would hang on for the tie.
 
Rogers finished with 13 saves on 15 shots in goal for the Cardinals, while Cline posted an impressive 41 saves on 43 shots.
 
The Cardinals (3-8-2 overall) are now on holiday break until Jan. 5, when they travel to Superior, Wis., for a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup against UW-Superior at Wessman Arena.