Thanks for nothing, NoDak.

DU hit the road and it hit back to the tune of a combined 9-1 over the weekend in a less-than-hospitable Grand Forks, N.D.

One night after North Dakota stifled Denver 5-1, the Fighting Hawks were even better Saturday, blanking the Pioneers 4-0 and outshooting them 37-18. Only a superlative effort by sophomore goalie Tanner Jaillet kept the outcome from being more lopsided.

“Tanner was the only bright spot on the night,” coach Jim Montgomery said afterward.

“We’ve got to get better. We weren’t good and UND was really good. When we’re playing well it’s just like that.

“When you lose you’re never as bad as you think you are. Our execution was the worst it’s been since the first game of the year.”

As lopsided as the shot margin was, it could have been even worse had not DU blocked 24 shots. And consider this, the teams again were even in the face-off circle. As bad as it was, it could have been even worse.

It was the first time DU has been shut out since losing at Nebraska-Omaha, 1-0, on Jan. 10.

The only series in the Montgomery era that comes close to this one in terms of the outcome was 10-3 combined sweep at St. Cloud State on Jan. 18-19, 2013.

In this century, I found just two other sweeps that approached this one – both cumulative 9-2 losses — vs. Boston College on Oct. 15-16, 2010, and vs. Colorado College on Jan. 5-6 in 2001.

Turning points: Badly outshot (19-4) in the first period, DU had a power-play chance. Gabe Levin, who missed Friday’s game to study for the LSAT – which he took Saturday morning, made a nice play to hold the puck in the zone, only to have his stick lifted and Austin Poganski race off with the puck and score on a breakaway with a second left. … Though UND never was not in control, it still only led 2-0 until midway through the third when Drake Caggiula and Brock Boeser scored less than a minute apart. Until that point UND’s CBS line had been held off the scoreboard.

“North Dakota, what a level they played at,” Montgomery said. “That’s the best I’ve seen in my three years here. I give them credit and our execution was so bad it fed into that.”

Powerless: For the second night in a row DU went 0 for 5 on the power play, particularly damaging on the road against an elite team.

“It is baffling,” Montgomery said. “We do have the talent there to have a good power play. We’re not winning face-offs, not winning battles. Our breakout’s not good.”

@MagnessMayhem