This was one instant replay that No. 5 Denver could have done without.

For the second night in a row, the Pioneers built a 2-0 lead, later watched No. 2 St. Cloud State score three goals in a row and ultimately lost a 4-3 NCHC decision at St. Cloud, Minn.

The Pioneers (5-2-1, 2-2 NCHC) also were outshot by a wide margin for the second night in a row, this time 41-18 and 80-42 on the weekend. The sweep, and the 10 penalties DU took Saturday, knocked some of the luster off a six-game unbeaten streak to start the season, but if nothing else the Pioneers proved they can skate with the best in the country.

“There were moments they overwhelmed us and we got too emotional, myself included,” DU coach David Carle said. “We all need to look in the mirror how we can get better and stick together. It’s moments of adversity where you get to grow.”

Unlike Friday, DU drew even after this St. Cloud State goal spree, when freshman Cole Guttman scored his second of the game, a strike from the high slot with 2:22 to play in the second period.

Another fast start

Guttman also scored the game’s first goal for the second night in a row, re-directing a shot by Jarid Lukosevicius 6:38 in. The Pioneers made it 2-0 nine minutes later when Brett Stapley found Finlay cruising down the slot, and the junior snapped his seventh goal of the season past Hrenak.

Just as they did Friday, the Huskies came right back, freshman Nick Perbix took a circle-to-circle pass from Jack Ahcan and beat Devin Cooley (37 saves) through his five-hole from the right dot just 37 seconds later for his first NCAA goal.

Another three

Perbix’s goal started another three-goal run by St. Cloud. Its offensive zone pressure led to the Pioneers taking four penalties in the second period, and the Huskies’ power play made them pay.

Just 3:30 into the second, Blake Lizotte cut DU’s lead to 3-2 when he finished a nice pass from Ryan Poehling, who had circled behind Cooley’s net and emerged to his left, drawing the defense to him and leaving Lizotte space to snap off a shot.

The Pioneers avoided further trouble during that 5-minute major, assessed after Jared Ressiguie was called for kneeing Ahcan at 2:36, when Lizotte took a tripping penalty halfway through the five minutes.

Later in the period, Easton Brodzinski gave the Huskies their first lead of the night, again on the power play when Robby Jackson fed him in the slot just above the blue paint.

Kevin Fitzgerald scored from the hash marks with 10:53 to go in the game off a feed from Ahcan from behind the net.

Notes

Freshmen Tyler Ward picked up his first NCAA point on Finlay’s goal, and Ressiguie notched his first NCAA point with the only assist on Guttman’s second goal. … The Pioneers struggled on special teams, going 0 for 3 on the power play while killing of eight of 10 penalties. … Sophomore forward Jake Durflinger returned to the lineup Saturday.

Denver’s three stars

1. Cole Guttman. The freshman center came to play this weekend, picking up his second and third goals on the trip on Saturday.
2. Liam Finlay. The junior continued his excellent chemistry with Brett Stapley, finishing the freshman’s pass to give DU a short-lived 2-0 lead.
3. Jarid Lukosevicius. He set up Guttman’s first goal and had a potentical one of his own waved off because of an interference penalty.

Up next

The Pioneers play host to No. 1 Minnesota-Duluth, which swept Colorado College this weekend, for NCHC games Friday and Saturday nights at 7:07 p.m.

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