The UND women's hockey team started the season playing eight of its first 10 games against top-10 foes.
Then, it played three straight without superstars Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux.
Now that the twin sisters are back and the most difficult stretch of the season is over with, the eighth-ranked Sioux will be guarding against a letdown as they host St. Cloud State at 7:07 tonight and 7:07 p.m. Saturday in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
The Huskies are off to a miserable start -- 0-8 in Western Collegiate Hockey Association play, 0-11 overall and averaging less than a goal per game. Their leading scorer is former Roseau (Minn.) High standout Kylie Lane, who has three points in 11 games.
They are searching for their first win since February.
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"We know they don't have a win, but that doesn't mean anything," UND forward-turned-defenseman Ashley Furia said. "They're going to want to come out and get their first one. We need to come out and play strong. We need to come out and play our game."
In the three games without the Lamoureux twins, UND scored just four goals. With the twins, they are averaging 3.5 goals per game.
"We're looking to bounce back and put some pucks in the net," Furia said.
UND (6-4-2 overall, 5-3-2 WCHA) will have to do that without senior forward Stephanie Roy, who will miss her second straight weekend with a lower-body injury. Roy went down against Ohio State two weeks ago and hasn't played since. She will be re-evaluated next week.
Coach Brian Idalski gave the team some extra time off during the week after playing with just 14 skaters against Bemidji State last weekend.
The Huskies will come to Grand Forks with a full roster of players, but they are missing four seniors that graduated last season, including former Warroad (Minn.) High standout Holly Roberts. The four seniors combined for 80 goals last season. The Huskies returned a combined 14 goals.
That's why they've scored just nine goals in 11 games so far. St. Cloud State hasn't reached three in a game yet.
"We have to focus on us executing and doing what we need to do," Idalski said. "If we battle and play to our level, then things are going to go well for us. The hardest part is going to be patient. That's going to be our challenge."
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Reach Schlossman at (701) 780-1129; (800) 477-6572, ext. 129; or send e-mail to bschlossman@gfherald.com .
