GRAND FORKS, N.D. - With 10 seconds left, freshman forward Nick Bjugstad of the Gophers took a mighty swing, missed the puck and fell in the left circle.

That pretty much summed up the Gophers offense Saturday. Little worked.

North Dakota, one night after seeing its seven-game winning streak end, beat the Gophers 4-1 at Ralph Engelstad Arena in front of an announced crowd of 11,975. Only two other games at the Ralph -- also against the U -- have drawn more.

The Fighting Sioux (17-6-2, 12-4-0 WCHA) limited the Gophers to a season-low 22 shots. Even the visitors' power play was a lifeless 0-for-6 with six shots.

"There was lot of blah to the game," Gophers coach Don Lucia said. "The first 10 minutes it was just what we wanted. We had settled in. We felt they had come out hard, but they didn't generate a whole lot. And then the penalties."

Twenty-two penalties were called, 11 on both sides. And unlike the Gophers, the Fighting Sioux were able to score on the power play, converting twice in six tries.

Senior center Brad Malone's ninth goal of the season, on a five-on-three power play at 14 minutes of the first period, was the eventual game-winner. The victory, coupled with Minnesota Duluth's 3-2 loss to Wisconsin, moved the No. 2 Sioux back into sole possession of first place in the WCHA.

With the score tied at 1-1 and the shots even at 5-5, Gophers captain Jay Barriball picked up two minor penalties at 12:27, the first for tripping, the second for cross-checking.

"It was a bad play on his part -- the two penalties," Lucia said. "And they seized the momentum."

Sixty-five seconds after Barriball went into the penalty box, defenseman Aaron Ness took a seat beside him.

From the time of Barriball's penalties, North Dakota outshot the Gophers 12-0 the rest of the first period and had chances to score once or twice more.

Like on Friday, when the Gophers won 3-2, they took the lead in this game, too. Freshman defenseman Mark Alt scored his first college goal on a dump-in shot from the right point at 8:54. But 34 seconds later, Evan Trupp of the Sioux stole the puck in the Gophers end and beat goalie Kent Patterson from 10 feet.

"That was the key part of the hockey game even though it was early on," North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol said. "They score a bit of a lucky goal, get the first goal, and Evan Trupp just went out and made a play. He anticipated the play, created the turnover and made no mistake."

Leading 2-1 early in the third period, the Sioux got an insurance goal from Corban Knight when a long shot deflected off his body.

Danny Kristo completed the scoring by diving for a rebound on a power play with five minutes left.

"[The Sioux] played really tight tonight, and our top-end players really struggled tonight," Lucia said. "They didn't make any plays. They had the will, they had the want. They couldn't get any rhythm."

Or any shots.