DULUTH, Minn. – The No. 5 University of Denver hockey team's third-period comeback fell one goal short as the Pioneers lost 4-3 to the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Friday night at Amsoil Arena.
 
Junior Jared Wright and senior Jack Devine scored in a matter of 100 seconds of one another midway through the final frame to get DU within one, but the Pios weren't able to even the score despite outshooting the Bulldogs 15-8 in the third. Denver finished with a 45-30 edge in shots on goal and had a 16-8 advantage in the opening frame; the Pioneers out-attempted UMD 81-41 overall.
 
Minnesota Duluth goaltender Klayton Knapp made 42 saves on 45 shots faced.
 
"There's a lot to like obviously in the game. Tip your hat to the goaltender; he played extremely well," said Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle. "I thought their team played very desperate as well. You look at the shot map, 45 on goal and they blocked 21 as well… We had a lot of time in the O-zone. I think another big factor, besides some execution, [Knapp] made some big saves, we missed the net a few times. Thought we could have made him work a little bit more."
 
Sophomore Sam Harris also scored for Denver, evening the outing at 1-1 at 2:31 of the second period. Sophomore goaltender Freddie Halyk made his second start of the campaign for DU and made 26 saves.
 
UMD's first two goals came on the power play—its only chances of the game—as Aaron Pionk tallied at 17:05 of the first and Max Plante gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 advantage at 13:14. Minnesota Duluth led 3-1 at the end of the second period before Anthony Menghini's scored 6:39 into the third to give the squad a 4-1 advantage
 
Wright tallied his sixth goal of the season with 8:43 left in the third period during a scramble in the crease, and Devine whipped a shot off a pass from sophomore Zeev Buium at 12:47 of the stanza during a 6-on-4 advantage—DU was on a power play and had an extra attacker on the ice with a delayed penalty on UMD.
 
The Pioneers finished 1-for-4 on the man advantage.
 
UP NEXT: DU and UMD will wrap up their two-game regular-season series on Saturday night in Duluth. Game time is at 5 p.m. MT, and it will be broadcast locally in the Denver metro area on CW2 (KWGN-TV). It will also be available on NCHC.tv. The Pioneers return home next weekend to host the Omaha Mavericks on Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver had its four-game winning streak against Minnesota Duluth snapped. The Pioneers are now 8-2-0 in their last 10 contests against the Bulldogs.
• DU is now 136-90-13 all-time vs. UMD and sports a 50-45-8 mark against the Bulldogs in Duluth.
• The Pioneers have scored a power-play goal in five straight games and in 19-of-23 outings this season.
• Denver's 45 shots on goal was its second-most in a game this season (46, Nov. 8 vs. Lindenwood).
• The Pios recorded double-digit shot totals in each of the three periods.
• Sam Harris scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season
• Goaltender Freddie Halyk made his second start of the season and first since Nov. 2 at Yale.
• Jack Devine is on a four-game point streak (3g/2a) and is one goal shy of 50 in his career.
• Devine's goal came while DU had the goalie pulled for the extra attacker, the team's third such tally of the season and first since Dec. 13 at Colorado College (also by Devine).
• Zeev Buium (1g/4a), Eric Pohlkamp (2g/1a) and Aidan Thompson are all on a three-game point streaks.
• Carter King had his four-game point streak end (1g/4a).

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
17:05 UMD (0-1) – PPG, Aaron Pionk's shot from the high slot went off the left post and into the net 19 seconds into the power play.
 
2nd Period
2:31 DU (1-1) – Samu Salminen began a rush up the ice and Sam Harris knocked in a rebound in the blue paint off a shot by James Reeder.
13:12 UMD (1-2) – PPG, Max Plante fired a snap shot into the back from the left circle off a pass by Callum Arnott.
17:45 UMD (1-3) – Kyle Bettens went top shelf with a wrist shot from the slot.
 
3rd Period
6:39 UMD (1-4) – Anthony Menghini knocked in the puck near the right post during a rush up the ice.
11:07 DU (2-4) – Jared Wright tallied during a scramble in the crease.
12:50 DU (3-4) – PPG, Jack Devine received a return pass from Zeev Buium and fired a wrist shot into an open net from the right side while DU had a 6-on-4 with a power play and an extra attacker from a delayed penalty.
 

QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On the power play and penalty kill: "Special teams was a big factor. We didn't kill for very long because they scored very quickly. When you don't win that first faceoff, it makes it hard. So we'll have to look at our plan for that. Obviously power play gets a big one when we pulled the goalie, 6-on-4, but I thought our best power plays were in the second period and had some of those really good looks. Those two power plays generated five shots, but again, credit to them, their desperation, they were able to block enough shots and make enough saves to obviously secure the victory. Tip your hat to them."
 
On the team's overall play: "We had a lot of good moments tonight. It's a bit back to the drawing board, but it's also keep your head held high. Tomorrow is a big one for a lot of different reasons, but certainly we want to try and get the result. They (UMD) are likely going to be better. I felt the push they had at the start of the second period, that's probably more indicative of what we're going to see tomorrow evening out of them. To come into the first period (tonight) down 1-0, stung a little bit certainly. We had a lot of good looks, unfortunately we're not able to capitalize. Klayton Knapp has like a .950 save percentage in the last four games, so they've found consistency a little bit here in goal. It certainly made them a harder team to play against."
 
On goaltender Freddie Halyk's play: "I'm happy for Fred. He definitely made some saves. I'm sure he would want the third one back, but it was a great release by the kid, quick attack off the wall. I thought he made a couple big saves there in the second, especially at the start of it when they were moving their feet, winning races. Makes a huge save when it was 4-1 on a 2-on-1 we gave up on the back door. He did keep us within range and that is all you can ask from a goaltender. Happy for him, he earned the start and gave us a chance."
 

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