WINONA, Minn. - In the previous five games heading into last Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against St. Benedict, the Saint Mary's University women's hockey team had scored six goals - three in a 3-1 win over St. Catherine, and three combined in losses to Lake Forest (twice), St. Catherine and St. Benedict.

SMU's offense was in dire need of a tune-up.

And Melissa Mondo (Vadnais Heights, Minn.) was the perfect mechanic for the job.

Mondo, who had missed SMU's last five games with an ankle injury, returned to the lineup Friday, giving the Cardinals a much-needed boost, collecting assists on three of SMU's four goals in its 4-2 win over the Blazers.

"Melissa played well, she certainly gave our offense a bit of a jump start," said SMU coach Duncan Ryhorchuk, whose team had scored just one goal in each of its last three losses - including Friday's 3-1 loss to St. Benedict in the teams' first game of their two-game MIAC series. "It was nice to have her back in the lineup, and it was a bonus to have her contribute right away like that."

The two teams traded a pair of first-period goals Saturfday, as Jen Shire (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) and Jenna Roland (Boyne City, Mich.) scored for the Cardinals, while Amy Glover and Susan Engel tallied goals for the Blazers.

From there, however, the Cardinals took control, scoring once in a 14-shot second period - off the stick of Rachel Harrison (Racine, Wis.) - then icing the win when Emily Babcock (St. Paul, Minn.) scored midway through the third period.

Nikki Jung (Inver Grove Heights, Minn.) finished with 23 saves for the Cardinals.

In the teams' first meeting on Friday, it didn't take the Cardinals long to get on the scoreboard - but it took the Cardinals a long time to get goal No. 2.

In fact, when SMU stepped on the ice for Saturday's rematch, they will still be waiting for that second goal.

Harrison gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead just a minute and a half into the opening period, but the Blazers netted three unanswered goals, including two in the third period, to hand SMU the 3-1 setback.

The Cardinals had the upper hand through the game's first two periods, outshooting St. Benedict 24-15, but only had Harrisoin's early first-period goal to show for their efforts, as the teams headed into the game's final 20 minutes tied 1-1.

Sarah Wilson put CSB on top at the 7:15 mark of the third period, and Erin Baldwin's powerplay goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation iced the Blazers' first win of the season.

Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) finished with 24 saves for the Cardinals.

"Nikki and Amanda Gage (Lino Lakes, Minn.) have been playing very solid for us," said Ryhorchuk, who got a 24-save effort from Gage in Friday's 3-1 loss. "We haven't been giving them much offensive support. They are going to make the saves we need them to make, but we can't expect them to shut out every team we play - we need to score more than one goal a game."