He'll have to share some of that glory with Fighting Sioux sophomore center Corban Knight (High River, Alberta).

It was clearly Knight's night as well. He scored two goals and assisted on a third. He also was credited with the game-winning goal as the Sioux edged Denver University 4-3 to run their Western Collegiate Hockey Association record to 3-0 (4-2-1 overall).

It was a happy occasion all the way around as a crowd of 11,616 at Ralph Engelstad Arena gave Belfour several ovations and cheered lustily for the current Sioux in their home opener.

The Sioux, swept last weekend in a non-conference series at Maine, took just one penalty tonight after collecting 19 in two games last weekend.

"To put it simply,'' Knight said, "I think we did everything better. We were a completely different team tonight.''

Knight's line, with junior Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg, Manitoba) and Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) on the wings, was dominant.

Gregoire had two assists and Hextall one, along with tying for the lead in shots on goal with four.

Knight put the Sioux ahead for the first time at 16:43 of the second period, converting a perfect feed from Hextall to make it 3-2. That goal capped a strong second period for the Sioux, who outshot the Pioneers 11-1 in the middle stanza.

Knight's second goal came 1:13 into the third period on a power play to make it 4-2. He tried to feather a pass to Gregoire in front. Instead, his pass deflected off a DU defenseman and rolled through the legs of Pioneer freshman goalie Sam Brittain.

"I was trying to pass it to Gregs (Gregoire), but a guy got a stick on it and it squeeked through the five-hole,'' Knight said. "It wasn't the prettiest one, but I'll take it.''

That the Sioux capped Belfour's big night with a victory made it more special, Knight said.

"That was so cool, the opening ceremonies,'' Knight said. "You grew up watching 'Eddie the Eagle' (Belfour) and you idolize him even if he's a goalie. I don't know if I've heard the Ralph that loud since the Gophers last year.''

The Sioux trailed 1-0 early on Zucker's first goal, only to have Sioux rookie defenseman Dillon Simpson (Edmonton, Alberta) knot it at 11:51 of the opening period. Simpson scored his first career goal, knocking in his own rebound over Brittain's extended right leg.

Matt Donovan's unassisted goal at 1:53 of the second period put Denver ahead 2-1. It was the only shot on goal of the period for the Pioneers.

Sioux sophomore wing Mike Cichy (New Hartford, Conn.) scored his first goal of the season at 9:04 of the second period, his wrist shot from the right faceoff circle going in high on Brittain's glove side.

Knight then took charge, scoring the next two Sioux goals to extend the lead to 4-2.

It was enough to withstand freshman Jason Zucker's second goal of the game for Denver at 10:37 of the final period that cut the lead to 4-3.

Denver pulled Brittain for a sixth attacker with 41 seconds left in the game, but never got a shot on goal.

UND coach Dave Hakstol called it UND's most consistent game of the season. Gregoire certainly didn't disagree.

"Our feet were moving, and we took one or two penalties (just one), so we could roll all four lines,'' Gregoire said. "Staying out of the box is huge for us. We had a little more moxie, a little more poise and confidence. We've just got to get back to our game, and that's nitty-gritty hockey.''

Denver swept all four regular-season games from UND last season before the Sioux beat the Pioneers in WCHA Final Five semifinals.

"It's always a battle against these guys,'' Gregoire said. "They're becoming one of our biggest rivals. It's so much fun playing them.''

Belfour played just one year at UND, but backstopped the 1986-87 team to the NCAA title. He dropped the ceremonial opening puck to start the game.

"We want to carry on the tradition that he kind of started,'' Gregoire said.

"We got contributions from everyone in the lineup,'' Hakstol said. "I thought we played hard for 60 minutes. That's what it took to win. It's definitely our most consistent game.''

The Sioux outshot the Pioneers 30-17 with sophomore goalie Aaron Dell (Airdire, Alberta) finishing with 14 saves to 26 for Brittain.

SIOUX NOTES: Knight's three-point game was the first of his career ... Hextall and sophomore Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) tied for most shots on goal with four each, followed by Knight and Gregoire with three . . . Junior Mario Lamoureux won 14 of 20 faceoffs ... Knight was named the game's No. 1 star, followed by Gregoire and Zucker . . . Senior forward Matt Frattin's five-game goal-scoring streak came to an end ... The series concludes with Saturday's 7:05 game . . . Belfour will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a breakfast at Engelstad Arena at 9 a.m. Saturday.