DENVER – The No. 10 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs went 6/7 on the penalty kill in their 4-1 defeat of the No. 4 Denver Pioneers hockey team (17-6-5, 7-5-4-3) on Saturday at Magness Arena. The Pioneers' loss marked their second straight, the first time they've dropped consecutive games since November and the first time they've been swept at home since December 2015.
 
Denver had its chances on the power play throughout the game with at least two chances in every period. Emilio Pettersen's goal at 7:44 of the third was the Pioneers' lone tally on the man advantage, though the goal that cut Denver's deficit to 2-1 was made irrelevant three minutes later. Minnesota Duluth scored twice after Pettersen's goal in the third to put a four-spot on Denver, the first time the Pioneers have allowed four goals in a game since Dec. 6.
 
"They raised their level of intensity from last night to tonight and unfortunately we weren't able to maintain our level of intensity that we had last night," Richard and Kitzia Goodman Head Coach David Carle said. "I felt like we had much better intensity last night, we were jumping and going. Give credit to them, they adjusted and they were the better team tonight. They deserved to win the hockey game."
 
The Pioneers and Bulldogs skated scoreless until 8:59 of the second period when a deflected pass at the Minnesota Duluth blue line allowed Scott Perunovich to send Noah Cates in on a breakaway. On the scoresheet, the Pioneers appeared to have the better chances before the Bulldogs took the lead. Denver was 0/4 on the power play to that point and were denied on another chance shortly thereafter.

Thirty-nine seconds into the third period, Minnesota Duluth doubled its lead. Perunovich, once more, was the setup man. With his first shot denied, Perunovich found the puck back on his stick and fed Nick Swaney for a one-timer to make it 2-0.

Denver's power play struggles finally broke at 7:44 of the third period with Pettersen's wrist shot from the left dot over the glove of Hunter Shepard. The goal came on the Pioneers' seventh power play of the evening and seemed to galvanize Denver until the Bulldogs' power play three minutes later extinguished the momentum. At 10:55, Perunovich and Swaney connected for another one-timer to make it 3-1 for Minnesota Duluth. Cole Koepke added an empty-netter for the Bulldogs with 2:02 remaining to seal their victory.
 
"We need to take care of our bodies and regroup," Carle said. "We need to understand that we're not there yet. We'll get there, but we need to narrow our focus and start to learn these lessons and get ready for a big opponent in North Dakota."
 
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Bobby Brink extended his point streak to five games with an assist. He has two goals and four assists in the stretch…Denver went 1/7 on the power play and 3/4 on the penalty kill…Devin Cooley made 24 saves…
 
UP NEXT: Denver Hockey presented by Centura Health heads into a bye week before traveling to North Dakota for a series on Feb. 14-15
 
FROZEN FACEOFF TICKETS: Tickets for the 2020 Frozen Faceoff in St. Paul, Minn. are on sale now. More information is available here.
 
2020 DENVER ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME RECEPTION: Denver announced its 2020 Athletic Hall of Fame class in January. The inductees will be honored on the DU campus May 16. For more information, registration for the reception and donation information, click here. 

DONATE: Fans interested in making a donation to the hockey program can do so by clicking here. Your contribution will make a direct impact on the success of YOUR Pioneers. Thank you in advance for your unwavering support of our student-athletes and their quest for excellence.  
 
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