GRAND FORKS, N.D.--  If National Collegiate Hockey Conference leader North Dakota ends up atop the college hockey circles after the NCAA tournament in April, the Fighting Hawks might look back at a loss rather than a win as to why that happened.
 
UND coaches and players point to a 4-1 at the University of Denver on Jan. 17 as the turning point for a team. The Fighting Hawks have now won three straight games, given up just two goals in three games, and sits alone in first place in the NCHC with eight games to go after Sunday's 5-0 blanking of Colorado College at Ralph Engelstad Arena.
 
Sophomore center Shane Pinto scored twice and Collin Adams, Judd Caulfield and Grant Mismash added one apiece to finish off a 15-save shutout for junior goalie Adam Scheel, his third of the season. He gave up just two goals in four starts against the Tigers this season.
 
As for the loss at Denver, it sparked the Fighting Hawks. "I'd say it was a little bit of a wakeup call,'' Pinto said after his three-goal, one assist weekend led UND to its seventh straight win over the Tigers.
 
"We've been much better ever since,'' Pinto added. UND (12-3-1) erased that loss with a 5-1 win the next night and then 4-1, 5-0 victories over the Tigers (3-11-2). The win streak has UND in first place by two points in the NCHC over second-place St. Cloud State with UND having played one fewer league game than the Huskies.
 
What changed since Denver? "I think we're just being harder on pucks,'' Pinto said. "Just playing our game. Doing the right thing, being physical.''
 
After UND went 18-1 at REA last season, establishing home advantage again this year has been a priority. "I think that's a huge deal. Downstairs we always emphasize that this is our building, this is our culture we build here,'' Pinto said. "Players know that when they come here, they are playing for something bigger than ourselves.''
 
The Fighting Hawks never gave CC much of a chance to get into the game, outshooting them 32-15, scoring once on the power play and killing all four Tiger power plays. UND has now allowed just one power play goal in the last 43 chances.
 
Pinto set the tone, cutting across the goal crease off of left wing and beating Tiger goalie Dominic Basse to the far side just 4:06 into the game.
 
Then in the second period, UND scored three goals in just under six minutes with Adams (6th), Pinto (8th) and Caulfield (1st) pushing the lead to 4-0. Mismash finished it in the third period with a goal-mouth tap on a Jake Sanderson feed from the right point on a 5-on-3 power play.
 
"I thought we did a good job early of coming out and establishing our game,'' UND coach Brad Berry said. "We always talk about the second night (of a series) going to be tougher.''
 
It turned out it wasn't, because UND was good in every aspect of the game, even with Hobey Baker candidate Jordan Kawaguchi kept off the scoreboard entirely.
 
Berry, too, mentioned the loss at Denver, followed by an impressive win by UND the next night. "We saw what our bar is at Denver,'' he said. "We know we can play to our capability in a 60-minute game. That's our challenge.''
 
The challenge was met over the weekend against the Tigers. A trip to Nebraska-Omaha is on the horizon next Friday and Saturday. UND plays the Mavericks in six of the next eight games to complete the NCHC regular season.
 
Game notes: Pinto (2 goals), Adams (goal, assist), Sanderson and Matt Kiersted (2 assists each) had 2-point games for UND ... The shutout was the sixth of his career for Scheel ... Pinto led UND in shots on goal with 5, followed by Mismash, Caulfield and Brendan Budy with 4 each ... UND won the faceoffs 28-24, led by Pinto (8 of 13) ...  CC's  best scoring chance may have been a shorthanded breakaway by Jackson Jutting, when he clanked his shot off the goal post in the first period ... Pinto now has a team-leading 19 points on the season (8G, 11A) ... Jordan Kawaguchi and Matt Kiersted are tied for the team lead with 13 assists each ... North Dakota has beaten Colorado College seven straight times, outscoring them (25-3) in that stretch ... UND has won 22 of its last 23 home games, dating back to 2018-19 season.
 
Virg Foss covered UND hockey for 35 seasons for the Grand Forks Herald, including 5 NCAA title teams, before his retirement. Since his retirement, he's reported on UND hockey games exclusively for FightingHawks.com. This marks his 51st season spanning 7 decades  since he began covering UND hockey in 1969.