The University of Minnesota Duluth women's hockey team looked every bit ready to pull off an upset over the No. 7/8 University of North Dakota Friday night, but the Fighting Hawks twice scored back-to-back goals to stave off a hungry Bulldog squad.

UMD lost a 4-3 decision at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D despite leading the game on two occassions.  The Bulldogs, who had three players record a goal and an assist, fall to 4-9-0 and 2-7-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, but all nine losses have come against top-10 opponents, including seven against teams ranked fifth or higher.

After a scoreless opening period, junior winger Lara Stalder buried a shorthanded breakaway midway though the second period  to give UMD the first lead of the night.  The goal stretched Stalder's team-leading tally count to seven games, but just 1:30 later, UND's Amy Menke scored the first of what would later be a Fighting Hawk hat-trick.

Two unanswered goals by Menke a mere 20 seconds apart put North Dakota up 2-1, but senior center Michela Cava scored her fifth goal of the season with just one minute remaining in the period to knot the game at 2-2.

UMD's Ashleigh Brykaliuk put the Bulldogs back up again with a power play goal 2:40 into the third period, but UND netted a shorthanded goal of its own to draw even at 3-3 at 9:17, before netting the eventual game-winner a minute later.

Bulldog Freshman goalteder Maddie Rooney made her eighth start Friday night and turned away 20 shots in the process.  Both teams netted a power play goal and a shorthand goal in the game -- UMD in three attempts and the Fighting Hawks in two.  UND outshot the Bulldogs 24-21 overall.

Both teams will hit the ice again tomorrow afternoon in Grand Forks for a 4:07 p.m. start time.