DENVER Freshman Tyler Bozak (Regina, Saskatchewan) scored his 13th goal of the season and senior netminder Peter Mannino (Farmington Hills, Mich.) stopped 34-of-35 shots as the No. 7 Denver Pioneers (18-8-1, 12-6-1 WCHA) skated to a 1-1 tie with No. 20 University of Minnesota (12-12-7, 6-10-5 WCHA) tonight in front of 6,076 fans at Magness Arena.

“I was really pleased by our effort tonight,” Denver head coach George Gwozdecky said. “We would have liked to have the extra point, but more importantly, I was looking for the kind of effort that helps us reestablish our identity. The effort, intensity and will to win puck battles were definitely there.”

Bozak opened the scoring at 11:04 of the second period after stealing a pass off the stick of Minnesota defenseman David Fischer near the DU blue line and skating in on a breakaway. The freshman faked to his backhand before depositing a forehand attempt between the legs of Gopher netminder Alex Kangas (25 saves).

R.J. Anderson evened the game at 8:59 of the third period when his shot from the right faceoff circle beat a screened Mannino to the far side, sending the game to overtime.

The Pioneers applied heavy pressure during the extra session including a Chris Butler attempt from the left faceoff circle in the closing seconds - but weren’t able to solve Kangas.

Minnesota outshot DU by a 35-26 margin. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play, with the Pioneers going 0-for-5 and the Gophers finishing 0-for-4.

Notes: Minnesota (2002 and 2003) and Denver (2004 and 2005) are the last two teams to capture back-to-back NCAA National Championships...Bozak’s short-handed tally was his fourth of the season, tying him for 2nd in the nation in that category...The Pioneers are now 11-5-1 against ranked opponents this season.