DENVER – Filip Larsson made 45 saves for the No. 7 Denver Pioneers (15-6-3, 7-6-1-1) as they defeated the North Dakota Fighting Hawks (13-12-1, 7-8-0-0) 2-1 on Friday at Magness Arena. The victory moved the Pioneers to fourth in the NCHC standings, two points ahead of the Fighting Hawks with one fewer game played.
 
"I thought Larsson was the best player on the ice tonight," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Coach David Carle said. "I did not like our start, but I thought we regrouped and had a really nice second period. We really started getting some pucks behind them and winning battles in the third. I liked our composure down the stretch."
 
North Dakota outshot Denver 19-6 in the opening period, but the Pioneers established the first lead of the night. At 8:48, Jaakko Heikkinen collected a bouncing pass from Tyler Ward before feeding Jake Durflinger for the 1-0 lead. 
 
Denver brought more sustained offense in a chippy second period. The Pioneers outshot the Fighting Hawks 16-12, closing the shot margin and extending their lead at 2:48 of the frame as Tyson McLellan found Ryan Barrow crashing the net off the right-wing side. After a few scrums early in the period, tempers reached a crescendo with Erich Fear and Gavin Hain wrestling to the ice for a pair of roughing penalties in front of the Pioneers' net. Filip Larsson preserved the lead with a few key stops, none bigger than his glove save on Nick Jones' wrist shot from the left circle at 15:04.
 
The teams skated to a comparatively quieter third period until Les Lancaster rang a shot off the crossbar with 7:20 left in the third and North Dakota responded. At 14:50 of the third period, a loose puck at the netfront caused a scramble and Larsson was helpless with a swath of bodies lying in the crease. Collin Adams made it 2-1 as the puck squirted loose from the pileup. The Fighting Hawks pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with 2:40 remaining, but the Pioneers defended their one-goal lead to aid Larsson in his seventh win of the season. Larsson made 15 saves in the third period.
 
Denver finished 0/5 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill.

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