WINONA, Minn. — After six straight games decided by one goal or less, Saint Mary's University women's hockey coach Duncan Ryhorchuk deserved a break.

He deserved a game that was decided early — rather than in the game's final seconds, or not at all.

Friday evening at the SMU Ice Arena, Ryhorchuk got just that.

SMU erupted for three third-period goals, breaking open a one-goal game and giving the Cardinals a 5-1 victory.

"It was nice to see us come out in that third period and really take it to them," said Ryhorchuk, whose team needed a goal by Emily Kearns (Hopkins, Minn.) — her third of the game — with 40 seconds remaining in regulation to beat the Royals 4-3 in Wednesday's first game of the two-game series. "I wouldn't necessarily say it was one of our best overall performances, but we got the win — and right now, that's what we need to do, keep winning."

The Cardinals entered the game with a 2-1-3 mark in their last six games — including a 2-2 tie vs. Lake Forest, a 3-3 tie vs. Gustavus, a 1-0 loss to Gustavus, a 3-2 win over St. Catherine, a 2-2 tie vs. St. Catherine, and a 4-3 win over Bethel in the teams' first meeting last Wednesday.

And, unlike many of their earlier games, SMU took it to the Royals early — and often.

SMU scored three first-period goals vs. the Royals on Wednesday — two by Kearns and the third by Jaimie Mussehl (South St. Paul, Minn.) — and led 2-0 after the opening period in Friday's rematch, as Kearns and Josie Nechodom (Oakdale, Minn.) found the back of the net.

"Heading into the series with Bethel, we had been struggling scoring goals in the first period," said Ryhorchuk, whose team had been outscored 21-3 in the game's opening period heading into the Bethel series — but outscored the Royals 5-0 in the first period of their two games. "It's always nice to be able to jump out on top early — it gives you the momentum right from the start. All season we've had to spend so much energy trying to dig out of first-period holes, it was nice to see us turn the tables a bit (against Bethel)."

Despite their first-period success, it certainly wasn't smooth sailing the rest of the way for the Cardinals, as Bethel scored three unanswered goals in Wednesday's game — setting up Kearns' late-game heroics — and pulled within one, 2-1, with a second-period goal on Friday.

"As well as we played in the opening period, that's about as poorly as we played in the second," said Ryhorchuk. "We came out flat in both games in the second period and let (Bethel) hang around. We had the chance to put them away, but we didn't do it."

And then came Friday's third-period outburst — and a much-needed breather for Ryhorchuk.

"It was nice to have a game that didn't go right down to the wire," admitted Ryhorchuk, who watched with relief as Kearns, Nechodom and Christy Hicks (Bloomington, Minn.) all scored in the game's final minutes, turning a one-goal nailbiter into a four-goal rout. "We needed a game like this — we got some different people contributing offensively, and we were able to pick up four key (conference) points."

Not only that, but it also allowed Ryhorchuk to breath a little easier.

• THIS AND THAT: Emily Kearns (Hopkins, Minn.) netted her second hat trick of the season in Wednesday's game vs. Bethel and finished the two-game series with five goals. … Kearns' five goals push her team-leading totals to 16 goals and 18 points. … Josie Nechodom's (Oakdale, Minn.) two goals vs. Bethel Friday were her first two of the season. … SMU's five goals vs. Bethel Friday were a season-high. … The Cardinals' three-goal first period vs. the Royals on Friday was the most goals they have scored ina single period all season. … The Cardinals have now won a season-high two in a row and are unbeaten in their last four (3-0-1). … Since getting swept by Augsburg on Nov. 22-23, the Cardinals have not lost back-to-back games and have gone 4-2-4.