By
DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
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LAKE FOREST, Ill. — After managing just four goals in their last four games combined — including one in Friday's 2-1 loss to Lake Forest — the Saint Mary's University of Minnesota men's hockey team turned up the offensive heat a notch or two Saturday afternoon.
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Or three, or four.
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The Cardinals erupted for a season-high four goals — including two from
Kyle Meeh (Fenton, Mo.) early in the third period, as Saint Mary's rallied from a 4-2 deficit to earn a 4-4 overtime tie with Lake Forest in the teams' nonconference rematch at Alumni Memorial Arena.
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Tommy Stang (Mendota Heights, Minn.), who netted Saint Mary's lone goal in Friday's 2-1 loss, was at it again on Saturday, scoring for the second time in as many days — this one a power-play tally to put Saint Mary's up 1-0 early in the opening period.
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Lake Forest would net the equalizer — also on the power play on a goal by Austin Aksoy — as the teams headed into the locker room after 20 minutes deadlocked at 1-1.
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The second period belonged to the Foresters, who netted three goals — including one with less than a second remaining — to off-set a Saint Mary's tally by
Andrew Cummings (Anchorage, Alaska) and take a 4-2 advantage into the game's final 20 minutes.
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Enter Meeh.
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The Cardinal junior had the Midas Touch in the third period — scoring twice, 25 seconds apart, before the game was even four minutes old for his first collegiate two-goal game, to pull Saint Mary's even, 4-4.
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Neither team would find the back of the net over the remaining XXX minutes of the third period — or the five-minute overtime — as Saint Mary's settled for its second tie of the season.
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Nick Nast (Oxnard, Calif.) finished with 27 saves in goal for the Cardinals, while George Argiropoulos stopped 41 Saint Mary's shots — 15 in the second period and 16 more in the third.
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The Cardinals (0-8-2 overall) return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play next weekend with a pair of road games against Saint John's. The Cardinals and Johnnies will face at 7 p.m. Friday evening at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minn., before returning to NHC for Saturday's 2 p.m. rematch.
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