GRAND FORKS, N.D. -- "That Old Black Magic'' was a song from the 1940s made popular by such musicians as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
It's alive and well these days in the form of success when the UND Fighting Sioux hockey team slips on its black jerseys.
UND's 6-2 Western Collegiate Hockey Association victory over St. Cloud State tonight ran its record to 4-0 this season with the Sioux wearing black and 22-1-2 since 2007 when sporting the black jerseys.
But a dynamic first period was more of the reason why the Sioux steamrolled the Huskies to complete their first home sweep this sseason in four tries.
The Sioux, who had but four goals in the first period in their previous 11 WCHA games, blitzed the Huskies for five goals in the first period to build a 5-0 lead after one period and earn a standing ovation from a sellout crowd of 11,952 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Thirteen different Sioux players had at least one point with Mario Lamoureux (Grand Forks), Brent Davidson (Morden, Manitoba) and Derrick LaPoint (Eau Claire, Wis.) all contributing their first goals of the season.
So widespread were the contributions from a shorthanded lineup that even goalie Aaron Dell (Airdrie, Alberta) contributed an assist.
So was it the magical black jerseys that did the trick?
"I don't know how much the jerseys have to do with it,'' UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "It's the guys in the jerseys. They showed up and played hard tonight.''
The Sioux outshot the Huskies 18-4 in the first period and struck rapidly on goals 27 seconds apart by Evan Trupp (Anchorage, Alaska) at 5:57 and by LaPoint on a rebound at 6:24 for a 2-0 lead.
Overall, the Sioux outshot the Huskies 39-15 in improving to 9-3 in the WCHA and 11-5-2 overall. It's the fastest start in league play for the Sioux in Hakstol's seven years behind the bench.
"Tonight was a real good win,'' Hakstol said. "The way we came out in the first period, how hard we played played, the intensity and execution that we played with,'' Hakstol said. "It was nice for us to get rewarded instead of coming out of that period with a one-goal or two-goal lead. That to me was the big difference.''
Davidson playing in just his fifth game of the season, made it 3-0 by knocking in a rebound of his own shot at 8:24, driving SCSU starting goalie Adam Dunn to the bench.
Senior Matt Frattin (Edmonton, Alberta), who had a three-point game, scored his 15th goal of the season on a rebound at 10:50 against Mike Lee, who replaced Dunn. Frattin is tied for the national lead in goals. Corban Knight (So., High River, Alberta) made it 5-0 with his ninth of the season at 16:21.
The scoring onslaught dried up for the Sioux after that. But Lamoureux scored his first of the season in the third period midway through the third period, ending a streak of 23 games without a goal for the junior center.
"It was good balanced scoring,'' Frattin said. "We had three guys who got their first goals. That's good to see. Break out of a slump for them. First period, we got things rolling, and pucks were going in for us.''
It was the first time since 2002 that the Sioux have worn the black jerseys at home. "Everybody was pretty jacked up,'' Frattin said, "and I guess it showed in the first period.''
The scoring contributions from so many players was welcomed with standout junior forwards Brett Hextall (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and Jason Gregoire (Winnipeg) out of the weekend action with injuries.
The Huskies, picked to finish second in the WCHA, slipped deeper in the standings in dropping to 3-6-1 in the WCHA.
"Holy mackerel,'' St. Cloud coach Bob Motzko said. "That wasn't something we wanted to see. We just let them freely come into our zone and we didn't pick any checks up in the first period. We were standing around. It's awful tough to dig a hole like that, huh?''
Dell faced just 15 shots, stopping 13 of them as the sophomore ran his season record to 10-4-1. Dunn, who came back to play the third period, had 15 saves, allowing four goals, and Lee ended with 18 saves and two goals allowed.
The sweep moved the Sioux into second place in the WCHA, one point behind Minnesota Duluth. The Sioux close out the 2010 portion of their league schedule next weekend with a series at Minnesota State.
SIOUX NOTES: Danny Kristo (Eden Prairie, Minn.) led the Sioux in shots on goal with six, followed by Brad Malone (Miramichi, New Brunswick) and captain Chay Genoway (Morden, Manitoba) with four ... Genoway left the game late in the third period. "I don't think it is anything serious,'' Hakstol said. "We were in a situation where we could rest him for the last 10 minutes.'' ... UND had a 41-20 edge in faceoff wins, led by Malone (15-5) and Knight (11-3) ... The Sioux were 1-6 on the power play with 13 shots, the Huskies 0-5 with just four shots ... Genoway led the Sioux in plus/minus ratings with a plus 3 ... UND has scored a season-high six goals three times this season, all in the last six games.
Virg Foss, who covered Fighting Sioux hockey for 35 years for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement, now reports on UND home games exclusively for FightingSioux.com. Contact him at virgfoss@yahoo.com or at (701) 772-9272.
