DENVER - The University of Denver hockey team continued its unbeaten streak, pushing that streak to eight games with a 1-1 tie at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. With the tie, the Pioneers earned a point in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and now stand in fifth place, but just one point shy of a four-way tie for second.

"We did not stay in our system all night," said Denver head coach George Gwozdecky. "I thought Wade Dubielewicz played extremely well in goal for us tonight. The goal we gave up was a bad play and he had no chance. We will need to play better in front of our goal tomorrow night to give ourselves better opportunities."

The Pioneers opened the scoring just 1:36 into the game as junior Chris Paradise (St. Paul, Minn.) centered the puck from behind the Minnesota-Duluth goal, hitting freshman Lukas Dora (Lednice, Czech Republic), who beat Bulldogs' netminder Rob Anderson. Also picking up an assist was freshman Connor James (Calgary, Alberta). With the assist, Paradise extended his current scoring streak to 10 games.

After peppering Anderson with 17 shots on goal in the opening stanza, the Bulldog defense tightened in the second period, allowing Denver just five shots on net. Instead, it was Pioneer goaltender Wade Dubielewicz (Invermere, British Columbia) who had to be solid in goal. Dubielewicz faced just six shots in the second period, but much of the action was in the Denver zone. Along with the regular-strength pressure generated by Minnesota-Dultuh, the Pioneers were faced with killing off two penalties opportunities. Despite the pressure from UDM, Dubielewicz and the Pioneers stood strong as the second period ended with Denver still holding a 1-0 lead.

UMD's Anderson made the play of the game at the mid-way point of the third stanza. Dora passed the puck through the crease, which found Paradise. Paradise's shot was labeled for the back of the net, but a sliding Anderson somehow got his right leg pad on the puck to keep the score 1-0. With just 5:26 left to play, the Bulldogs evened the game as Tom Nelson chipped in a rebound that Dubielewicz could not control. Denver had to continue to hold off Minnesota-Duluth as the Bulldogs forced overtime.

Just 38 seconds into the overtime, Denver was given a golden opportunity to win the game as sophomore Matt Weber (Binghamton, N.Y.) broke in on Anderson all alone. UMD's Ryan Coole rushed back to stop Weber but was called for a holding penalty, giving the Pioneers a two-minute power play. Minnesota-Duluth killed the penalty to keep the 1-1 tie. Then, with time winding down, James took a pass at center ice and broke into the Duluth zone on a two-on-one with Dora. James' pass made it to Dora, who was stopped by Anderson. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

"We have about 20 hours to prepare for tomorrow's game and I don't even have to think about it - we will be ready," said Gwozdecky.

Denver (8-7-2, 7-5-1 WCHA) and Minnesota-Duluth (4-12-1, 1-9-1 WCHA) will close the series tomorrow night (Saturday) in a 6:05 p.m. MST game. The game can be heard live on KCKK AM 1600 with the pre-game beginning at 5:45 p.m. MST.