DENVER - UND has encountered a couple of weeks of frustration, but you can be sure of a few things.
Ryan Duncan can still score goals. Jean-Philippe Lamoureux can still help take control of games and the Sioux are still nearly unbeatable in their black jerseys.
UND put together a significant victory in Magness Arena on Saturday night in the form of a 3-1 decision against Denver.
With chants of "Let's go Sioux" frequently ringing throughout the sold-out rink, UND managed its fifth consecutive Western Collegiate Hockey Association split.
Last season's Hobey Baker Award winner, Duncan, broke a six-game goal drought by burying a few from his favorite spot - the right circle - while linemates Chris VandeVelde (one goal, one assist) and T.J. Oshie (two assists) added multipoint nights.
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UND improved to 7-5-1 overall and 5-5 in league play while the third-ranked Pioneers dropped to 10-4 overall and 7-3 in the league.
The Sioux once again donned the black jerseys after losing the opening game of a road series and the result was the same - a strong performance resulting in a UND win. The Sioux are 3-0 this season while wearing black and 9-1 in the past two seasons.
Lamoureux made 35 saves - 24 in the third period alone - to help shut down Denver's offense.
The Sioux used a strong effort on special teams, too. They scored twice on the power play and once shorthanded. They also held Denver scoreless in seven power-play chances.
The Sioux got on the board first when VandeVelde scored the team's first power-play goal in 11 periods at four minutes of the first period.
Duncan dished the puck to Oshie, who carried it in the zone and beat a Denver defenseman along the left-side boards. As he got near the end line, Oshie fed it to VandeVelde, who was cutting down the slot.
The Sioux got another power-play goal early in the second when Oshie directed a loose puck to Duncan, who was in the right circle. Duncan knocked the water bottle off the top of the net with a shot that beat Mannino high to the glove side.
The Pioneers got back in the game midway through the second. After controlling the play for a couple of minutes, Brock Trotter created a turnover behind the Sioux net and he fed Tyler Bozak in the slot. Bozak, who had the only goal of Friday's game, put a one-timer past Lamoureux at 10:04.
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But less than two minutes later, Duncan struck again. While skating a man down, the Sioux created a turnover high in their own zone and VandeVelde and Duncan took the puck in the zone two-on-none. VandeVelde carried it along the left wing and Duncan buried his cross-crease pass at 11:14 for UND's first shorthanded goal of the season.
Denver put pressure on Lamoureux during the third, especially during the three power plays in the period. But Lamoureux didn't allow anything past him.
UND will be able to travel home with another Saturday night win on the road - their fourth in four tries this season. The Sioux will play rival Minnesota at home next weekend.
Notes: Darcy Zajac replaced Brent Davidson in the lineup on the fourth line. . . . Kyle Radke and Davidson were healthy scratches. . . . All of the Denver players and parents were introduced during the first intermission. . . . Oshie missed the last couple of minutes in the second period with an unidentified injury but returned for the start of the third.
