A third-period to forget sealed No. 5 Denver’s fate in a 3-0 loss to No. 4 Minnesota Duluth in an NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinal at Saint Paul, Minn., on Friday night.

The Bulldogs (24-11-2) scored just 42 seconds into the final period and carried much of the momentum from there. Freshman Cole Koepke scored that goal and added the second of two empty-net goals for UMD. Defenseman Louis Roehl also had an empty-netter.

The Pioneers (21-11-5) appeared to be worn down by the Bulldogs’ physical play, particularly on the forecheck. UMD made it difficult for DU to play with pace because it inhibited many of the Pioneers’ zone exits.

“It was a tight checking game; there wasn’t a lot of time and space to make plays,” Denver coach David Carle said. “It came down to execution and they made one more play than we did. I’m proud of our effort.”

Denver’s best chances seemed to come in spurts, foremost among them the final couple of minutes of the second period. But Bulldogs goaltender Hunter Shepard, honored one day earlier as the conference’s top netminder was up to the task. The sophomore made 25 saves.

“There’s a reason he’s won awards in this conference,” Carle said. “He did a great job sealing the bottom of the net.”

Counterpart Filip Larsson stopped 30 shots for Denver and stood tall in the face of an onslaught on his goal at times.

The Bulldogs’ first goal was a case in point.

Defenseman Dylan Samberg drove the net and was ridden into Larsson by Pioneers defenseman Les Lancaster, who cleared the loose puck out of the crease. However, the puck went right to Koepke at the top of the left circle, and he fired it between Larsson’s leg pads.

UMD nearly seized a 2-0 lead with 10:35 left in the third period on another apparent goal that was reviewed.

The Bulldogs shot the puck off the end boards and it hit Larsson’s back and stayed in the blue paint. As the goalie searched for the puck he was run into by Riley Tufte as Jesse Jacques reached around the side of the net and tapped the puck into the net. The goal was overturned after an official’s review.

The 1-0 margin held up until the final two minutes, when Roehl scored on a clear with 1:38 to go. Koepke built the final margin when a puck eluded DU defenseman Ian Mitchell at the UMD line. The Bulldogs forward won a race down the ice to ice the game.

“Every time we play them it seems like it’s a 1-0, 2-0 game,” Mitchell said. “We did a good job taking momentum back after they had a few pushes (in the second period). Giving up that goal early in the third made it harder for us.”

Minnesota Duluth will play No. 1 St. Cloud State, which defeated Colorado College 5-2 in the first semifinal, for the championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. MDT, although there is no question both teams should be top seeds in the tournament.

Denver now sits No. 8 in the Pairwise rankings, which projects them to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Pioneers will face the Tigers at 2:30 p.m. MDT in the third-place game. The Tigers won the regular-season series 2-1-1 to claim the Gold Pan for the first time in five years. NCHC.tv will have the webcast.

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