"It's surreal,'' Knight after scoring his first college goal and winning the coveted hard-hat award from his teammates for his all-around performance in North Dakota's 5-2 victory tonight over Merrimack in the non-conference season opener for both teams at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

Knight's rebound goal at 10:57 of the third period followed by 41 seconds a goal by senior center Chris VandeVelde (Moorhead, Minn.) and staked the Fighting Sioux to a 4-2 lead over the Warriors.

"You always dream of scoring the first goal at any level,'' Knight said. "At the collegiate level, it's very high, high on my list.''

What's bigger, winning the hard-hat award for his gritty play, or scoring his first college goal? "I don't know,'' Knight said. "This hat's a pretty big honor, but I think the goal has to take that one.''

Five different players scored goals and 11 players had a goal or an assist in a balanced start to the season for the Fighting Sioux (1-0).

The Sioux started quickly with sophomore Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) tipping in a point shot by senior defenseman Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) just 39 seconds into the game. It was the quickest goal to start a season for the Sioux since at least the 1999-2000 season, according to quick on-the-spot research by UND media relations director Jayson Hajdu.

Sophomore forward David Toews (Winnipeg, Manitoba) made it 2-0 at 12:31 with a wrist shot to the short side on Merrimack goalie Joe Cannata (35 saves). Toews later drew the first assist on Knight's goal in winning No. 1 star of the game honors in a media vote.

Merrimack came back with goals by Justin Bonitatibus at 15:20 and by Chris Barton at 19:35 to forge a 2-2 tie after one period,, but the final two periods belonged to the Sioux. UND outshot the Warriors 30-10 over the final 40 minutes and outgunned them 3-0.

"I thought we started really well and had a good first period other than a couple of plays toward the end of the period,'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We made a couple of poor decisions, and Merrimack made some good plays.''

VandeVelde collected what proved to be the winning goal at 10:16 of the second period. He capped a late 3-on-1 rush with his rebound goal just 13 seconds after the Sioux had killed a penalty for too many men on the ice.

Even before VandeVelde's goal could be announced on the public address system, Knight brought a roar from a crowd of 11,135 with his goal 41 seconds later, putting the Sioux firmly in charge.

Sophomore Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), who was robbed by Cannata twice earlier in the period, sniped a perfect cross-ice pass from junior Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) at 14:51 of the third period for the final 5-2 margin. Hextall's goal, on a power play, was UND's first conversion in six tries.

"The key to the hockey game from my vantage point,'' Hakstol said, "was to come out with good composure in the second period and regain the lead after giving up a quick two-goal lead.''

Toews, who appeared in 23 games as a rookie last year in a season marred by injuries to him, took a big step forward tonight.

"He had a goal and assist tonight and drew a couple of penalties,'' Hakstol said. "He was involved in the game.''

All four lines contributed to the scoring. "It's hard to put a number on the lines,'' Hakstol said. "I don't know if we know right now who are No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 lines are. We're trying to find combinations that work, or show signs of working now or in the future.''

The game plan is simple for Toews. "I want to move my feet and play as hard as I can after having a bit of a disappointing second half last year,'' Toews said. "When you work hard and move your feet and have good linemates and good teammates playing the game the right way, everything else takes care of itself.''

His goal gives him bragging rights over his older brother Jonathan, a former Sioux and a star with the Chicago Blackhawks, looking for his first NHL goal this season.

"I'm not going to give him too much of a hard time,'' David Toews said "I know he's probably giving himself a hard time more than anyone else. It's a tough thing when you can't put the puck in the net when you're playing hard and you're doing the little things the way he always does.''

Sophomore goalie Brad Eidsness (Chestermere, Alberta) finished with 15 saves, give in each period.

Merrimack netminder Joe Cannata finished with 35 saves.

SIOUX NOTES: Prior to the game, the banner celebrating UND's 14th Western Collegiate Hockey Association championship won a year ago was raised to the rafters. It's the most for any of the 10 WCHA schools. . . The five goals allowed by Cannata more than doubled his season average of 2.35 a year ago when he posted some of the best numbers in Hockey East . . . Merrimack was picked to finish 10th in the 10-team Hockey East by the coaches this season while UND was picked to finish second in the WCHA . . . This was the first meeting ever between the two schools . . . The rematch to conclude the series is at 7:07 Saturday at REA.

Virg Foss, who covered Fighting Sioux hockey for the Grand Forks Herald for 35 seasons until his retirement, writes exclusively for FightingSioux.com at UND home games.