ST. CLOUD, Minn. – The No. 6 University of Denver hockey team fell 4-3 to the St. Cloud State Huskies on Saturday night in the series finale at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.
 
SCSU (8-10-0, 3-7-0 NCHC) used nearly seven continuous minutes of power-play time in the third period to build momentum and rally for the victory. Denver (12-6-1, 8-2-0 NCHC) dropped its first game in regulation since Oct. 25 at Northeastern, ending a run of 12 straight outings with either a win or an overtime loss (9-3-0).
 
The Pioneers received goals from freshmen Kyle Chyzowski and Reid Varkonyi and senior captain Kent Anderson while senior Rieger Lorenz recorded a multi-point evening with two assists. Goaltender Quentin Miller made 28 saves.
 
Denver led 3-2 entering the third period, but back-to-back penalties gave St. Cloud State an additional boost on the ice. Among those infractions were two by separate Denver players at 9:37 of the frame that handed the Huskies a five-minute major power play that began with two minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage.
 
DU killed off the initial two minutes down by two men, but Tyson Gross scored the tying goal 11 seconds after the first foul expired. That was the only marker during the major penalty, but the Huskies struck again nine seconds after all of the Pioneers were released from the penalty box, with Barrett Hall netting the eventual game-winer with 5:14 remaining in regulation.
 
Denver had looks in the final minutes but couldn't get any other shots past goalie Patriks Bezins, who made 24 saves.
 
Max Smolinski opened the scoring for SCSU at 2:33 of the first, but DU led 2-1 after the first period on markers from Anderson and Chyzowski 2:36 apart in the middle of the frame. Varkonyi scored his first career goal with 4:17 left in the second stanza, but Gross made it a one-goal contest going into the third with his first of the evening at 19:46.
 
The Pioneers finished 1-for-2 on the power play while the Huskies officially ended 1-for-6 with the extra man. Twelve of St. Cloud's 32 shots came during power plays.
 
UP NEXT: The Pioneers are now off for nearly three weeks for the holiday break as they next play on Jan. 2-3 against Maine to begin a four-game homestand at Magness Arena.
 
 
POSTGAME NOTES

• Denver is now 62-54-7 all-time against St. Cloud State and is 6-2-1 in the last nine games of the series
• DU had its three-game winning streak against the Huskies in St. Cloud come to an end, with the program now owing a 25-25-4 record on the road in the series.
• Defenseman Cale Ashcroft played in his 100th career game, becoming the third member of the team's junior class to reach the century mark.
• Senior forward Samu Salminen skated in his 125th career NCAA contest.
• Rookie Kyle Chyzowski scored for the third time in the last four games and stretched his season-long point streak to four games (3g/1a).
• Defenseman Kent Anderson scored his first goal of the season.
• Freshman Reid Varkonyi tallied his first career goal and has recorded points in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
• Rieger Lorenz had two assists for his fourth multi-point game of the season and eighth contest of his career with two helpers.
• Sam Harris' career-long point streak (tied) came to an end at nine games (5g/5a).
• Boston Buckberger's (2g/3a) and Clarke Caswell's (1g/4a) four-game point streaks also ended.
• Denver lost its first game of the season when leading after the first and second periods.
• DU's five penalty kills were tied for the most in a game this season (third time).
• The Pioneers tied a season high with 16 blocked shots (Dec. 6 vs. Miami).

 
GOAL SUMMARY
1st Period
2:33 SCSU (0-1) – Max Smolinski tallied on a wrist shot that went far-side while streaking up the ice on a rush.
10:14 DU (1-1) – Kent Anderson went short-side with a snap shot at the right circle after taking passes from Samu Salminen and Brendan McMorrow from behind the goal line.
12:50 DU (2-1) – PPG, Kyle Chyzowski knocked in a loose puck in the crease after Rieger Lorenz's initial deflection off an Eric Pohlkamp shot got through the SCSU goalie.
 
2nd Period
15:13 DU (3-1) – Reid Varkonyi fired a shot high, far-side from the low left circle after taking a pass from Hagen Burrows.
19:46 SCSU (3-2) – Tyson Gross tallied in front off a pass from Max Smolinski.
 
3rd Period
11:48 SCSU (3-3) – PPG, Tyson Gross scored from the tough angle from the left side 11 seconds after the first penalty of an initial 5-on-3 expired.
5:14 SCSU (3-4) – Barrett Hall tallied on a wrist shot during a rush that came nine seconds after St. Cloud State's major power play expired.
 

QUOTABLES
Richard and Kitzia Goodman Hockey Head Coach David Carle
On where the team is at the mid-point of the season: "We got a lot in front of us. It's been a good first half. Ten of our first 15 on the road, we've grown up a lot. It's (the game) our first regulation loss since being out at Northeaster, which feels like a long time ago. No bye weeks in the first half. Ten freshmen. I think we've grown up a lot. We've had some bumps on the road and have been better for it. I think we're one of six or seven teams that can win a national championship. So our challenge is to continue growing, stay hungry, reflect on what the first half was while we're home (for the holiday break) away from each and come back and ready to work against Maine."
 
On the game: "It was a different game than it was a night ago. I thought their (St. Cloud) effort and execution was better tonight. Obviously penalties were a big factor in the outcome of the game tonight. Little bit uncharacteristic of us giving up a late goal (in the second period) to get it to 3-2 and then end up going on the (penalty) kill for seven straight minutes there in the third, so challenging. I thought we were going to get out of it (the penalty kills) 3-3 and then unfortunately we give up a rush goal. Hell of a play by their top line to be able to connect together and put it in the back of the net."
 
On defensemen Boston Buckberger and Eric Pohlkamp: "They're excellent players on both sides of the puck. I think they've started to manage their game a little bit more on the defensive side, which actually has given them more offensive looks. They've been a big factor in our success early, a lot of goals for both. Eric is in double-digit, I think Boston is close behind."
 
Junior Defenseman Boston Buckberger
On playing Eric Pohlkamp on a defensive pairing: "It's been great playing together. We didn't start out the season together I think the first four or five games of the season, but I think getting back together, just like we did last year and finding chemistry. It's been great for our team. We can just build off what we do on the ice, and we're just trying to be leaders out there and set the tone for our team. We've done a great job with that the first half."
 
On outlook for the second half of the season: "I think just build. Keep building from then on. Obviously we got Maine, a big non-conference matchup when we get right back. I think the last couple of years our team has built and created momentum throughout the whole year, and I think peaked at the right time, which is the Frozen Four at the end of the year. So I think just keep building, making sure the younger guys know what we're chasing, what we're after, and I think we're going to have a lot of success going forward."
 
 
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