Denver demonstrated this weekend what it’s capable of when goaltender and reigning Mike Richter Award winner Tanner Jaillet is really on his game.

The top-ranked Pioneers got 27 saves from the senior on a night in which they were outshot, 28-15, yet emerged with a 2-1 victory Saturday for an NCHC series sweep at No. 15 Minnesota Duluth.

Jarid Lukosevicius struck late in the second period, and freshman Jake Durflinger tallied the winner with 4:04 to play to lift Denver (9-3-2, 5-3 NCHC).

“Hopefully we can move forward, take the good defensive aspect of this game and get back to playing a lot better, a lot faster offensively,” DU coach Jim Montgomery told AM 1600 after the game.

“It wasn’t a pretty weekend. But for our team to grow we needed to win two games, tough games mentally and physically, and we were able to pull it out.”

Lukosevicius’ goal came as a result of some hard work by Colin Staub and Logan O’Connor. Staub gained control of the puck below the Bulldogs’ goal line and chipped it to O’Connor to the left of the cage. O’Connor took a few strides and found Lukosevicius open on the right side of the slot for his sixth goal of the season.

Scoring against the Bulldogs (7-8-2) is nothing new for the junior, who did it three times in the national title game in April.

UMD even things at 8:32 of the third period when Blake Young buried a back-hander after receiving a back-handed, cross-slot feed from Nick Swaney.

But Durflinger got the winner after Kohen Olischefski raced down the right wing and tried an inside-out move on Bulldogs goalie Hunter Shepard. Shepard made the stop but the Durflinger came right down Main Street, corralled the rebound and scored into the right side of the net for his fourth of the season.

Olischefski returned to the lineup because of an injury to center Tyson McLellan.

Outshot 22-11 in the first two periods, DU limited Duluth’s chances for the most part in the third. And when the Bulldogs broke through, Jaillet, the last line of defense, was more than up to the task.

The netminder shut out the Bulldogs for 108:32 and stopped 55 of the 56 shots on goal (.982 save percentage).

“He was the Tanner Jaillet we’ve all become accustomed to,” Montgomery said. “You get too comfortable with him because he is that good and he’s always in control of the game.”

Welcome to the NCHC

Two weeks ago Ryan Orgel was playing Junior A for Lone Star of the North American Hockey League. After a whirlwind recruitment, he made his NCAA debut for the Pioneers, typically paired with fellow freshman Griffin Mendel.

Orgel replaced senior Adam Plant in the lineup. Plant, who missed Game 1 of the North Dakota series two weeks ago then got waylaid the next night, took another big hit Friday but returned to the game.

Numbers game

Both teams were a perfect 2 for 2 on the penalty kill on Saturday and 5 for 5 for the series. … The Bulldogs owned the circle on Saturday, winning 33 of 56 draws (59 percent). … As wide as the shots on goal margin was, the total shots spread was wider – 54-30 in favor of Duluth.

Denver’s three stars

1. Tanner Jaillet. He allowed one goal … all weekend. He made 27 saves Saturday.
2. Jake Durflinger. Netted the winner and stayed in Bulldogs’ cages all night.
3. Jarid Lukosevicius. He might not be allowed within Duluth city limits anymore.

Up next

The Pioneers play host to Colorado College on Friday at 7:05 p.m., then travel to Colorado Springs on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. rematch.