The first period ended.
Hallie Theodosopoulos jumped off the bench and skated toward goalie Lexie Shaw.
"We were going to hit Lexie on the pads and say, 'Good period.' Then I looked up and the scoreboard said zero shots. I was like, 'Whaaat?'"
Theodosopoulos saw it right.
UND didn't allow a shot in the first period-and didn't allow a shot on goal in the opening 26 minutes, 1 second-as the Fighting Hawks downed St. Cloud State 4-0 to finish off a series sweep in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
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UND improved to 9-6-5 overall and 7-5-4 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play, while St. Cloud State fell to 5-14-1 and 4-11-1.
The Huskies, playing without injured forwards Hannah Potrykus and Janna Haeg, struggled to get any sustained offense against UND.
The Huskies didn't register a shot until Lauren Hespenheide threw a harmless wrister on net 6:01 into the second period. They had no shots in the first and just three in the second as UND built a two-goal lead.
"I think it was a bad matchup for us this weekend with having two of our forwards out and having injuries against their veteran, senior-laden defensive corps," St. Cloud State coach Eric Rud said. "It was like oil in water for us all weekend. We just had trouble making any kind of little plays offensively. Every time we entered the zone, it felt like we got swallowed up and it went the other way."
UND matched Canadian National Team defenseman Halli Krzyzaniak on St. Cloud State's top line and top forward Julia Tylke, who was held without a shot on goal.
"When they can stick one of the best 'D' in the world against our top line every shift, it makes an impact," Rud said.
UND got scoring from all over the lineup.
Rookie Ryleigh Houston scored on the first shift of the game-UND scored on the first shift Friday, too-to give the Fighting Hawks a 1-0 lead.
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Theodosopoulos scored in the second to extend the lead and senior Kayla Gardner scored midway through the third and finished it off with an empty-netter.
Shaw made 11 saves for her fifth shutout of the season.
"I think this is big for us, because overall we've been tying a lot," Theodosopoulos said. "Last weekend at Ohio wasn't what we wanted. Now, to get a sweep, shows how things are clicking right now."
UND will be on the road for most of the remainder of the season, but UND coach Brian Idalski is optimistic by what he sees from his team.
"I really like this group," he said. "They're very coachable. Their work ethic is terrific. It's going to be an interesting second half to see where we take this. Anyone who comes to watch us understands we're playing at a level we haven't in the past, because everyone is moving the puck, everyone is involved, everyone is contributing. That's never happened in the past. We just haven't had that kind of depth."
