GRAND FORKS, N.D. – What a difference a day can make, right?

It certainly was for North Dakota men's hockey tonight in front of a sellout of 11,826 at Ralph Engelstad Arena.

One night after a lethargic, sluggish performance resulted in a 3-1 nonconference loss to Wisconsin, North Dakota dominated in all phases of the game in winnning 3-1.

UND outshot the Badgers 38-16 and attempted a resounding 88 shots to just 34 for Wisconsin. That sends North Dakota into National Collegiate Hockey Conference play next weekend at the Ralph against the University of Miami with a nice 7-1-2 overall record (2-0 in NCHC).

"Kind of an opposite game from last night,'' UND rookie coach Brad Berry said. "I thought we battled hard for 60 minutes and found a way to win. I'm proud of our guys. That's the way they have to play.''

It would have been more one sided but UND was 0-for-7 on power play, including a couple of 5-on-3s, and hit four goal posts. A 35-save night by Wisconsin goalie Matt Jurusik kept the score in check, too.

Berry said his team learned from the school of hard knocks after Friday's setback.

"It learned that you have to have a consistent game day in, day out.''

North Dakota played physically tough, crashed the net looking for rebounds and won the faceoff battle 35-29, led by Nick Schmaltz (16/6). Still, the game was tied 1-1 going into the final period.

Johnny Simonson dug the puck out behind the Badger net and kicked it out front to rookie Shane Gersich for his fourth goal of the year at 7:30 of the last period. Eight minutes later, UND senior Drake Caggiula, back in the lineup after missing Friday's for a league-imposed one game suspension, scored his third of the year to cap a 2-on-1 rush with Nick Schmaltz 15:30. Caggiula had nothing but net to look at and the perfect pass from Schmaltz gave him easy pickings.

North Dakoa carried a 1-0 lead into the second period when freshman defenseman Christian Wolanin's flip shot from the top of faceoff circle snuck by Jurusik, who didn't seem to even see the shot at 7:54.

Wisconsin, despite being outshot 19-6 in the second period with just one shot on net from below the faceoff dots, tied it on Grant Besse's shot in tight right over the right leg pad of UND goalie Matt Hrynkiw (15 saves) at 10:24.

But UND's persistence in effort and attack prevailed in the third period as Wisconsin's (3-4-3) three-game win streak ended. Having Caggiula back in the lineup definitely helped. He had a goal and an assist and contributed in ways that don't show up on the scoresheet.

"Spark, enthusiasm,'' Berry said. "The vocal side of it as far as leadership. He's got a presence on the ice. He's a fast competitor. He puts the opposition's defensemen on their heels. He makes it unsettling for the other team.''

Said Caggiula: "I was the only guy out there tonight with fresh legs today. I knew I had to create a spark.''

Hrynkiw has been a godsend in net, a third-string goalie in training camp before injuries sidelined two other goalies ahead of him on the depth chart.

"This young man in net has earned himself another start soon,'' Berry said. "We want him to continue his momentum.''

UND notes: Paul LaDue and Wolanin led UND in in shots on goal with six each ... UW was 0-5 on the power play with but four shots ... Named the three stars by the media were Gersich, Simonson and Jurusik, in that sequence.

Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald until his retirement. He's in his 11th season of reporting on UND home games exclusively for UNDsports.com