WINONA, Minn. — The scenario was simple for the Saint Mary's University men's hockey team last Friday — win their Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline, and the Cardinals were in the MIAC playoffs for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

They did, and they are.

Marcus Reszka (Winona, Minn.) scored two goals and assisted on another as SMU cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Pipers, locking up that elusive MIAC playoff berth in the process.

And, thanks to a 6-4 loss by St. Olaf to Concordia, Friday's win also meant that that first playoff appearance in seven years will kick off on the Cardinals' home ice.

"We played well (on Friday)," said SMU coach Don Olson, whose team scored once in the first period — on Reszka's first goal of the game — then added three more in the second period. "The guys knew what was at stake tonight. They knew a win would get them a playoff berth, and they went out and took care of business.

"I thought the second period was one of our better periods — we just totally dominated."

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that domination wasn't there in the team's rematch on Saturday, as Hamline broke a 2-2 tie with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to beat the Cardinals 3-2 in SMU's regular-season finale.

"Obviously, we would have liked to play better in our final game, but I guess a bit of a letdown (after Friday night) was to be expected," said Olson, whose team ends the regular season with an 8-7-1 MIAC record and a 13-10-2 overall mark. "It would have been nicer to go into the (MIAC playoffs) on a winning note, rather than coming off a loss. We didn't play well (Saturday), we just didn't compete the way we did (in Friday's win) — and the way we need to in the playoffs."

The Cardinals will have a complete week to prepare for their tournament opener against either Augsburg or St. Olaf, who are tied for the fifth spot with 13 points. St. Olaf faces Hamline next weekend, while Augsburg squares off against league-leading St. John's.

"We need to use this week to rest, heal, and prepare," said Olson. "We can't dwell on (Saturday's loss), but hopefully we learned from it — we can't afford to take anything for granted. We've got to put our best game on the ice, nothing more, nothing less."

On Friday, Reszka, Lenny Hofmann (Sartell, Minn.) and Nick Meeker (Rochester, Minn.) all scored second-period goals for SMU, which outshot Hamline 19-8 in the middle period. Eric Weum foiled SMU goalie Curtis Nosal's (Omaha, Neb.) bid for a shutout, scoring midway through the third period.

After a scoreless first period on Saturday, Griffin Kirby got Hamline on the board four minutes into the second period. Morgan Buetow-Staples (Arden Hills, Minn.) tied the game six minutes later as the teams took a 1-1 tie into the locker room after two periods.

In the third period, Lubos Taragel broke the tie at 5:38, but again SMU battled back, getting a goal from Hofmann with just 2:17 remaining in regulation. The tie, however, lasted just 1:02, as Mike Johnson netted the game-winner, beating Nosal at 18:55, giving the Pipers their first MIAC win of the season — and their third in their last four games.

"We cleared a huge hurdle on Friday night, and our mental focus on Saturday wasn't what it needed to be," Olson said. "Right now our focus has to be on the positive — the fact that we're back on the playoffs. But now that we're in, we have to turn our game up a notch. Getting there is nice, but we're hoping that's just the beginning."