No. 1 Denver could not get anything past Western Michigan freshman Ben Blacker, and fell 3-0 to the No. 14 Broncos.

It was the first time this season the Pioneers (14-5-4, 6-2-3) were shut out, and they have yet to win in regulation or five-on-five overtime in the three games they’ve been ranked No. 1 this campagin. DU is 2-3-1 in its past six games after running off a 15-game unbeaten streak.

Frederik Tiffels walked out in front of Tanner Jaillet on a power play and put a backhander under the cross bar with 13:32 to play in the game. That was all WMU (11-5-3, 5-5-1-1) would need. The Broncos added empty-net goals by Chris Dienes and Sheldon Dries to salt the game away in the final 1:15.

“We didn’t manage the game well tonight and that cost us,” Denver coach Jim Montgomery said, via the school’s official website. “The Broncos did a much better job of managing the game, especially in the third period, and they deserved the win.

“That being said, we didn’t do ourselves any favors, coming up empty on several odd-man rushes and some other good opportunities. We definitely need to do a much better job of capitalizing on our scoring chances, fostering a more aggressive net-front presence and executing with the puck if we want to get back on track tomorrow night.”

Jaillet (27 saves) and Blacker (24) were excellent throughout.

At least Denver didn’t lose ground in the NCHC. No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth’s home winless streak grew to three games after St. Cloud State beat the Bulldogs, 2-1, and Miami scored five consecutive third-period goals to surge past No. 7 North Dakota, 6-3.

Notable

KUSA-TV reported late Friday that sophomore forward Troy Terry sustained an upper-body injury in the third period. Terry helped Team USA win the recent World Junior Championship by scoring three shootout goals against Russia in a semifinal victory and the only shootout goal in a gold-medal game triumph over Canada. Terry had a career-high five points in last Saturday’s 6-1 victory against Arizona State, a game in which he was paired with freshman Henrik Borgstrom and sophomore Dylan Gambrell. … The teams play again Saturday at 5 p.m. MST.