By Mark HaugenAfter an ugly season-opener for the Luverne boys hockey team Friday night, things started looking better by Saturday.Mankato East came to town to open the Cardinals’ season and dealt them an 8-0 loss Friday. Luverne then hosted Holy Family Catholic the next afternoon and played much better before falling 7-3.Luverne plays at Waseca on Saturday and at Benson/Morris on Friday, Dec. 3.Mankato East 8,Luverne 0East scored four times in the first period, twice in the second and twice in the third to roll to victory.Luverne was outshot 39-11."They just outplayed us," Coach Nick Nafziger said. "They’re a pretty good team and our guys were chasing a lot and out of position. Those were the biggest things I noticed."Holy Family 7,Luverne 3The penalties were a bigger story than the final score, as both teams piled up 40 total penalties (21 for Holy Family, 19 for the Cardinals). "They called absolutely everything," Nafziger said. "There was absolutely no flow to the game."The tone was set early as two penalties were called in the first 20 seconds of the game. "At meetings earlier this summer, they said they were going to call tighter games," Nafziger said. "Friday night they let them play, but we had a different set of refs Saturday and they called everything."In between penalties, the teams managed some goals. Luverne skated to a 1-1 tie after the first period, as Matt Reverts scored unassisted at the 11:29 mark.Two Holy Family goals later, Nick Otten slapped home an unassisted score for the Cardinals with 4:19 to go in the second.Reverts’ second goal, assisted by Tim Drost, came with 3:50 left in the game."We played much better," Nafziger said. "We were passing much better. Holy Family is a team we could skate with more. They are a pretty young team, too."