WINONA, Minn. — Sooner or later, the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team is going to get rewarded for its offensive efforts.

Coach Don Olson just wishes it would be sooner, rather than later.

For the fourth straight game, the Cardinals outshot their opponent Sunday afternoon, peppering the St. John's goal with 35 shots — only to come up on the short end, as St. John's scored two goals 20 seconds apart early in the first period and never looked back in handing SMU a 3-2 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback.

"We played well enough to win both games (against St. John's)," said Olson, whose team held a 36-35 edge in shots on goal in Saturday's first game, but lost 5-3. "It's not like we're not creating good scoring opportunities, because we are.

"We just can't seem to put the puck in the net."

After outshooting Augsburg 84-54 last weekend — only to lose 6-3 and 3-2 — the Cardinals picked up right where they left off against the Johnnies, holding a 71-60 edge in shots on goal.

But where it mattered most — on the scoreboard — the Johnnies held the edge.

"(On Friday), we made some defensive mistakes in the third period, and (St. John's) capitalized on them," said Olson, whose team gave up a pair of third-period goals en route to the 5-3 setback. "That's been the story for us lately — we're creating a lot of good scoring opportunities, but we're not capitalizing on enough of them. Our opponents, on the other hand, are making the most of their opportunities."

The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Lenny Hofmann (Sartell, Minn.) and Chad Damerow (Albert Lea, Minn.). The lead was short-lived, however, as St. John's scored twice in a five-minute span midway through the first to tie the game at 2-2.

Kevin Willey gave the Johnnies their first lead of the game six minutes into the second period, but Damerow netted his second of the game three minutes later as the teams went into the lockerroom after two periods tied 3-3.

Over the final 20 minutes, however — despite outshooting SJU 11-8 — the Cardinals came up empty, while the Johnnies scored twice on SMU goalie Curtis Nosal (Omaha, Neb.) to seal the win.

The Johnnies didn't allow the Cardinals a chance to get the early lead in Saturday's match, as Scott Bjorklund and Adam Holmgren gave SJU a quick 2-0 advantage, beating SMU goalie Ryne Ess (Eden Prairie, Minn.) 20 seconds apart before the game was even two minutes old.

"They caught us on our heels a bit," admitted Olson, noting that St. John's got 15 of its 25 shots on goal in the game's opening 20 minutes. "We were a little flat to start, but really seemed to pick it up in the second and third periods."

The Cardinals hounded the Johnnies' net over the game's final two periods, peppering SJU goalie Rick Gregory with 12 second-period shots and 14 more in the third period, only to come up with Mark Zoller's (Rochester, Minn.) second-period tally, and Lenny Hofmann's (Sartell, Minn.) goal with 22 seconds remaining in regulation.

"It's frustrating for everyone, because it's not like we're playing that poorly," said Olson, whose team has now dropped six straight. "To create that many good scoring chances, and only come away with two or three goals is tough."

And the road doesn't get any easier for the Cardinals, who must now face the league's hottest team — Gustavus.

The Gusties, who opened the season with nine straight losses, enter this weekend's series having gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games — including a 5-1, 8-4 sweep of Hamline last weekend.

"They are playing very well right now," Olson said of Gustavus. "We just have to keep battling. The (scoring) opportunities are there and sooner or later, these guys are going to get rewarded for all their hard work — they're going to break out and score a bunch of goals."

Hopefully sooner, rather than later.

• THIS AND THAT: SMU has outshot its opponents 155-114 in its last four games, but the Cardinals have been outscored 17-10. … Chad Damerow (Albert Lea, Minn.) scored two goals in Friday's win, pushing him into a tie with Al Schumacher (Oakdale, Minn.) for the team lead in points with 23. … Lenny Hofmann (Sartell, Minn.) scored two goals over the weekend, giving him 10 for the season. … After opening its MIAC schedule 3-1, SMU has dropped six straight conference games. … SMU has been outscored 22-13 in the first period. … Six of the Cardinals' nine wins have come at home. … After scoring no fewer than four goals in 11 of its first 12 games, SMU has not scored more than three goals in its last seven games.