No opponent has been more familar to the University of Minnesota Duluth in the postseason than the University of Denver. Friday's National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoff opener marked the longtime rivals' 28th postseason clash and one to savor for the No. 7 Pioneers, at least for one night, as they pulled out a 4-3 comeback triumph over the No. 6 Bulldogs at Magness Arena.

Denver took its only lead of the evening when it counted the most -- with less than five minutes to go in regulation -- and outscored UMD 3-1 in the third period. The Bulldogs (20-14-3 overall) grabbed a one-goal advantage on three occasions in the setback only to see Denver (21-12-2) claw back to tie each time.

UMD was without the service of a pair of top forwards -- senior captain Adam Krause, who was serving a one-game suspension from a major penalty he incurred last Saturday and Alex Iafallo (mononucleosis) -- and was forced to play two defensemen (freshman Nick McCormack and sophomore Dan Molenaar) up front.  The Bulldogs scored once each period with sophomore left winger Kyle Osterberg, junior defenseman Andy Welinski and junior left winger Cal Decowski doing the striking.

"We battled hard," said UMD head coach Scott Sandelin. "Denver made a push in the third period, and they got a break or two, and that was the difference. But I was proud of our team. We've got guys who can play and they played their hearts out tonight."

UMD, which has rolled up the third most road wins in the country (it is 12-9-0 away from Duluth), went 0-for-3 on the power play while Denver connected once (the equallizer at 6:46 of the third period) on its three opportunities with the man advantage. Ty Loney potted the game-winning goal with 4:24 remaining to complete his hat trick.

"It's definitely a tough pill to swallow," said Decowski. "I thought we played a good team game, but there's always more we can give and we've just got to come back with a good, full effort tomorrow."

Game two of the best-of-three quarterfinal playoff series is set for a 8:07 p.m. (CT) start Saturday night.

Notes: Andy Welinski's second-period goal, which came off a shot from the right point, was his career-high ninth of the year. Those nine goals are bettered by only three other defensemen in the country. Welinski, who helped set up Cal Decowski's score, also became the eighth Bulldog veteran to establish a personal best for points this winter (20) ... Kasimir Kaskisuo, a 2014-15 NCHC All-Rookie Team selection and a finalist for the NCHC Goaltender of the Year Award, finished with 28 saves Friday while Denver's Tanner Jaillet, a fellow freshman, turned aside 27 of 30 shots ...  UMD has never won a Western Collegiate Hockey Association/NCHC road playoff series after dropping the opening game ... The Bulldogs are 1-for-20 on the power play over the last five games ... Bulldog sophomore center Dominic Toninato, who picked up an assist Friday, and Denver's Danton Heinen pace the NCHC in road scoring with 20 points each ...  Prior to this weekend, the Bulldogs had only given up three goals in the third period twice all season and both of those came at home (vs. Western Michigan University on Jan. 17 and St. Cloud State University on Feb. 14) ... UMD is now 8-17-2 all-time versus Denver in conference playoff matchups and 0-1 in NCAA Tournament play. That includes a 4-15-2 mark on the Pioneers' home ice ... The Bulldogs have won only three conference road playoff series (all WCHA) in their program history and two of those came at the expense of Denver (2006 and 1988). The other was registered against Colorado College in 2009.