ST. CLOUD, Minn. — New day, same result.

Unfortunately, that hasn't been a good combination for the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team.

The Cardinals saw their losing streak climb to a season-high five straight Saturday evening, as St. John's scored twice in the third period to break a 3-3 tie and send the Johnnies to a 5-3 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

"We made some defensive mistakes in the third period, and (St. John's) capitalized on them," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team is seaching for its first conference win since a 4-2 win over Bethel on Nov. 23. "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 jumjped out to a 2-0 first-period lead on goals by Lenny Hofmann (Sartell, Minn.) and Chad Damerow (Albert Lea, Minn.). The lead was shortlived, 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 locker room 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.

"It's the same old story," said Olson. "We've ben there with a chance to win — we just haven't been able to get the job done."