MILWAUKEE, Wis. — After a period and a half of scoreless hockey between Saint Mary's University and Milwaukee School of Engineering, goals came fast and furious over the final 10 minutes of the second period Tuesday evening.
 
Which was good news for the host Raiders — and not-so-good news for the Cardinals.
 
MSOE erupted for four second-period goals — including two, 10 seconds apart late in the frame — as the Raiders cruised to a 6-0 nonconference victory over the Cardinals at Kern Center.
 
Cardinal goalie Matt Sankner (Pennington, N.H.) stole the show in the game's opening 20 minutes, fending off all 12 MSOE shots to send the Cardinals — who were outshot 12-4 — into the locker room deadlocked at 0-0 at the first intermission.
 
Sankner continued to stymie the Raiders through the first 10 minutes of the second period — stopping the first eight shots he faced in the frame — before MSOE finally snuck one past the Cardinal freshman, as Nigel Nelson netted his first of the season at 10:16 to put the Raiders in front, 1-0..
 
And once the Raider offense got on track, they were unstoppable.
 
C.J. Kline would unleash a slap shot that zipped past a screened Sankner just three minutes after Nelson's tally for a 2-0 lead, and MSOE would add back-to-back goals by Garrett Gintoli and Matt Hanewall just 10 seconds apart late in the period to give the Raiders a commanding 4-0 cushion heading into the game's final 20 minutes.
 
And the Raiders picked up right where they left off to open the third period, getting goals from Christian Sabin and Garrett Gintoli in the first four minutes to make it a 6-0 MSOE advantage.
 
Sankner was certainly busy between the pipes for the Cardinals, equaling his career high with 35 saves — including 15 in the second period alone — while MSOE goalie Darius Bell stopped all 14 Saint Mary's shots en route to his first collegiate shutout.
 
The Cardinals (4-8-1 overall) are now off until Jan. 7-8, 2022, when they welcome St. Scholastica to the Saint Mary's Ice Arena for a pair of MIAC contests. SMU and CSS will square off at 7 p.m. on Jan. 7, before completing the two-game series with a 2 p.m. matinee the following afternoon.