The UND women’s hockey team found itself playing its best hockey of the season as the team hit the midway stretch last weekend.

The Green and White have won seven of the their last eight games since coming out of the holiday break.

North Dakota’s one loss since the break was against a Syracuse team that UND outshot 45-23, but lost 2-1 on Jan. 11. With the most recent sweeps over Ohio State and Bemidji State, North Dakota has been seeing improvement in WCHA conference standings.

The team holds a 10-8-2 record in conference games and currently sits in fourth place in the WCHA behind Minnesota, Wisconsin and Minnesota Duluth.

Before last weekend’s sweep over Bemidji State, North Dakota was sitting at sixth place in the WCHA.

“It’s way better now,” said senior captain Andrea Dalen, who opened scoring in last Saturday’s victory. “It seems like we’re getting way more pucks to the net, making the small things right. We’re a much tougher team know.”

Goaltending was a high note of the game last Sunday. Junior goaltender Shelby Amsley-Benzie recorded her 43rd career victory, breaking the previous school record of 42 that was held by Stephane Ney.

“We’re playing better in front of her, and that’s why you’re seeing the results you are,” UND coach Brian Idalski. “As I’ve said all year long, Shelby’s been good.”

Amsley-Benzie hasn’t allowed more than one goal in her last six starts.

North Dakota will look to keep scoring goals to compliment Amesley-Benzie’s stellar play between the pipes this weekend when the team travels to Minnesota Duluth for another important WCHA matchup.

A sweep over Minnesota Duluth this weekend won’t put North Dakota ahead of the Bulldogs in the WCHA standings, but would place it only one point behind them. Like UND, Minnesota Duluth also has been playing good hockey since coming off of the holiday break.

The Bulldogs have won five of their last six games and are coming off a dominating weekend in Mankato, outscoring the Mavericks 16-0 in two games. North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth met at Ralph Engelstad Arena back in mid-October and split the series, 1-1.

The Green and White won the first game when Sam LaShomb scored the game-winning goal in overtime after North Dakota tied it up with only seven minutes of play, forcing extra time. In the Saturday game, North Dakota only registered 16 shots on goal, losing to Duluth 1-0.

North Dakota will look to continue its four-game win-streak over conference opponents when the puck drops at 6:07 p.m this Friday night in Duluth, Minn.

Ben Novak is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].