Women's hockey: Wisconsin 4, UND 3

For 20 minutes, Wisconsin's Olympians put on a show and everyone appeared to be interested observers - including the UND women's hockey team.

By the time the Sioux figured out they could skate with the Badgers, too, it was too late.

Wisconsin charged to a 3-0 lead and held on for a 4-3 victory over the Sioux on Saturday afternoon in Ralph Engelstad Arena.

U.S. Olympians Hilary Knight and Meghan Duggan scored in the opening six minutes and standout Brianna Decker added a pair of tallies later for the Badgers, who ensured they will remain ahead of UND at the top of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings at the end of the weekend.

Wisconsin improved to 13-2 overall and 9-2 in WCHA play, while the Sioux dropped to 8-5-2 and 7-4-2.

"We prepared this week and we knew what to expect," said Sioux junior Alyssa Wiebe, who had a goal and an assist. "But when we came out, you could tell the girls were intimidated. We gave up that first one and sat back on our heels like 'whoa,' so the first period was rough.

"We talked about what we needed to do. We got the wrong out and we started moving forward with the right."

Jocelyne Lamoureux scored her 13th goal of the season and 11th in WCHA play, moving within one of tying the program record for most conference goals in a season. Her tally - a deke on Wisconsin goalie Alex Rigsby (25 saves) from the slot - made it 3-1 Badgers early in the second.

Defenseman Jordan Slavin and Wiebe cut the lead to 4-3 by the end of the middle frame, but the Sioux couldn't get the tying goal in the third.

"The second period I thought was a pretty good period for us," UND coach Brian Idalski said. "They flexed their muscle after a couple of our goals and had us on our heels, but we answered their goal back.

"The short bench showed a little bit down the stretch. I'm not sure how much we had left in the tank. I was pleased with our compete level. I didn't think we gave up. Down 3-0, we could have easily hung our heads. We battled back, but we need to be better tomorrow."

Idalski said he's unsure which goalie will start in the series finale, but Stephanie Ney was solid in the opener. She stopped 28 shots, including numbers odd-man rushes for the Badgers.

The teams will conclude the series at 2:07 p.m. Sunday.

"We know that we can play with these girls," Wiebe said. "They have a lot of skill on their team, but we proved we can skate with them in the second and third periods. All the girls know that. Heads are high. We know what we've got to do tomorrow. We'll be ready."

1/2: UND's Stephanie Ney (29) makes a pad save on a shot by Wisconsin's Brit Ammerman in the second period Saturday in Wisconsin's 4-3 win. Herald photo by John Stennes.

2/2: Referee Chris Perrault points to the puck in the net during a scramble in front of Wisconsin's goalie Alex Rigsby in the second period of a game against the Badgers. After a review UND was crdited with its second goal of the period by Jordan Slavin. Herald file photo by John Stennes.