BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Charles Dickens' classic novel "Great Expectations'' of 1860 has nothing in common with the expectations of University of North Dakota men's hockey coach Dave Hakstol except the title.

Hakstol and UND fans have great expectations for a UND team picked to win the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) title this season, one that also came into the season ranked No. 2 in the national polls.

Friday's humbling 5-1 to Bemidji State in Grand Forks in UND's home opener perhaps topped an opening night of college hockey upsets across the country.

Hakstol said after Friday's game that he wanted to see a much better "compete level'' from his team in the rematch with the Beavers at the Sanford Center here tonight.

He got what he wanted.

UND had a solid effort from everyone and rode junior wing Colten St. Clair's first goal in his last 13 games in the opening period and captain Stephane Pattyn's shorthanded goal late in the second period to a 2-1 victory over BSU and a split of the weekend series.

"We had a good compete level,'' Hakstol said. "But we're not going to pat ourselves on the back because we came out and competed hard. That's what we expect.''

Ah, Great Expectations.

On this night, they were delivered by everyone in the lineup from junior goalie Zane McIntyre's 28 saves to big contributions from freshmen forwards Johnny Simonson and Trevor Olson and defenseman Tucker Poolman in their college debuts.

UND had to kill a string of five straight BSU power plays in the second periods, including a pair of 5-on-3's totaling just over a minute. BSU did score on a power-play rebound when freshman Myles Fitzgerald -- one of three triplets on one line -- flipped in a backhand rebound at 4:18 of the third period to make for an exciting finish in front of a sellout of 4,313.

"We did all the right things to win a road game,'' Hakstol said. "After a pretty sick feeling for about 12 hours, our guys did a good job. They showed maturity. They came out and played with confidence, and played hard together.''

Pattyn delivered the game-winning goal with his first career shorthander, and perhaps the most quotable line as well.

"I think guys just showed up,'' Pattyn said. "We had a little fire under our butts today after getting embarrassed at home last night.''

The Beavers battled hard in their home opener as UND enjoyed a slight shot edge of 32-29.

"It's like that every time you play Bemidji,'' Pattyn said. "They play really, really hard.''

Pattyn got a gift goal when BSU goalie Andrew Walsh and BSU's defensemen lost track of Pattyn as he exited the penalty box and snuck into the attack zone on left wing. UND defensemen Troy Stecher, with all of BSU's concentration on him, slipped the puck from the right side to Pattyn on the left, who had a wide-open net to score into.

"A little trick play,'' Pattyn said. "Flea-flicker.''

Has he ever had an easier goal?

"Yeah, sophomore year against BU (Boston University) I hit it off a guy's skate, hit the glass in the corner, went off the goalie's skate and in,'' Pattyn said.

His Invisible Man routine tonight worked just fine for a sequel in producing the game-winning goal. St. Clair noticed a big difference in UND's play compared to Friday.

"There was a lot more compete in our game tonight,'' he said. "We weren't throwing passes in the middle of the ice, and protecting the puck a little better.''

Said Pattyn: "A lot of guys in that (UND) room know what it takes to win games in Division I hockey. The way we played last night (Friday), definitely we're not going to win any games. You got to play with an edge, you got to play with a lot of intensity.''

UND did that tonight, and took a small step toward meeting the great expectations many have set for this team.

UND NOTES: Hakstol made changes to all four of his forward lines after Friday's loss and to two of his three defensive pairings . . . Moving into the lineup tonight were rookies Olson, Simonson and Poolman along with junior Bryn Chyzk. Simonson, a Grand Forks product, won the first four faceoffs he took ... Keaton Thompson, Wade Murphy, Austin Poganski, Matt Hrynkiw and Coltyn Sanderson were healthy scratches ... UND opens NCHC play next weekend on the road, facing Colorado College Friday and Saturday in Colorado Springs.

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement in 2005. He's now in his 10th season of reporting on UND games exclusively for UNDsports.com.