FOND DU LAC, Wis. - Marian University women's hockey (0-1-0, 0-0-0 NCHA) lit the lamp three times in the third period of their season opener but a fast start from Saint Mary's allowed the Cardinals to sneak away from Blue Line with a 4-3 non-conference win.

The first two periods were all SMU as the Cardinals scored three goals, two on the power play, to jump out to a fast two-period lead.  Despite the slow start, Marian only trailed 13-10 for shots on goal after two.

The Sabres bounced back to play a strong third period where they outshot SMU 14-6.  It only took 49-seconds of the period for Marian to get on the board for the first time when senior defenseman Sarah Bier snuck one in from the slot.  A mere 1:29 later, freshman forward Ally Fox lit the lamp for the first time in her career when she caused a turnover deep in the zone from the left circle and went stick side to beat the goaltender.

The Fox goal cut the deficit to one at 3-2, but a Saint Mary short-handed goal with just over 14 minutes remaining in the game gave the Cardinals a comfortable two-goal lead.

MU continued to battle and with only 50-seconds left in the game and an empty net freshman forward Morgan Bolin scored her first career goal to cut the deficit back to one.  Sophomore forward Jill Schneider and senior Emily Everson assisted the goal, but that would be all the Sabres could manage setting the final score at 4-3.

The Sabres finished with a 24-19 shots advantage because of the strong third period, but MU would go 0-4 on the power play.

Bier led the way with a game-high five shots, while sophomore forward Hailey Miller was 7-13 in the faceoff circle.  Sophomore Lindsey Strainis took the loss in goal making 15 saves.

Marian returns to action Friday, Nov. 4 when the Sabres host Concordia Wisconsin at 7 p.m. from Rink B in their NCHA opener.

--FightBlueFight--