HANCOCK, Mich. (SabreAthletics.com) - Looking to continue their recent success, Marian went on the road Saturday to take on Finlandia University. A hat-trick from junior Matt Williams paved the way for the Sabre victory, as they won their fifth game in a row, defeating Finlandia 5-2.

Heading into the weekend series, the coaching staff identified one of the keys to Marian's game was to get on the board early and grab the momentum. Finlandia, who entered the weekend at 2-17-1 overall, has been eliminated from the Harris Cup Playoffs, which leaves them to play the role of spoiler. The Sabres, who are within reach of a fourth-place finish int eh standings, entered the weekend needing every point they could get if they hoped to improve their positioning.

At 3:39 of the first period, Williams gave Marian their first lead of the night, capitalizing on the feed from senior Tyler Klein and freshman Scott Milnthorp. Minutes later, Williams added his second of the night, this time on the man-advantage with junior Rjay Berra and freshman Derek Perl collecting the assists.

Feeling confident with the two-goal lead heading into the second frame, Marian let the foot off the gas pedal just enough to give Finlandia an opportunity to get back into the game. Scoring on the power play at 5:31 was Travis Armstrong to cut the Marian lead to one.

Just over two minutes later, junior Aaron Leonard scored his second goal in as many games on the power play to restore the two-goal lead. Failing to go away quietly, the Lions tallied 37 seconds later to once again bring the game to within one.

Williams capped off his second career hat-trick at 10:25 of the third period to give Marian a 4-2 lead. Freshman Tanner Pagendam would later score at 18:03 for his first collegiate goal to cap the scoring for Marian.

The third period saw the teams trade scoring for penalties, as Finlandia and Marian combined for eight penalties in the final frame. With a late power play opportunity, Finlandia opted for the 6-on-4 advantage, pulling their netminder. To no avail, senior Josh Baker stood tall and kept the Lions at bay. He finished with 33 saves on the night.

Marian and Finlandia will meet once more tomorrow afternoon to complete the weekend series with the puck drop scheduled for 1:15 p.m.