The University of Denver scored three times in a span of 4:43 midway through the second period to take the lead for good and went on to a 4-3 home victory over the University of Minnesota Duluth in a battle of the nation's top two ranked teams. With the triumph, the No. 2 Pioneers extended their unbeaten streak to 15 games while dealing No. 1 UMD its first setback in nine regular season road games (a run that dated back to last February). They also leapfrogged over the Bulldogs into first place in the National Collegiate Hockey Association standings -- a spot UMD had occupied since the opening weekend of league play.

The Bulldogs (10-3-2 overall; 7-2-0-0 NCHC), playing for the first time in 19 days, went up 1-0 at the 13:04 mark of the first when senior left winger Alex Iafallo stripped Denver's Blake Hillman of the puck near center ice and broke in all alone before deking Pioneer netminder Tanner Jaillet for his team-leading 10th goal of the season. Denver (12-2-3; 6-0-3-2) got the equalizer 7:03 into the third period then tacked on two more even-strength goals at 11:27 and 11:49. Right winger Joey Anderson cut the deficit in half two minutes later with a wicked wrist shot from the high slot that beat Jaillet to the blocker side,  but the Pioneers made it a two-goal game again at 3:34 of the third. With 2:05 to go in regulation, junior center Sammy Spurrell redirected senior defenseman Carson Soucy's shot to pull UMD within one, but that, despite pulling their goalie and sustaining heavy pressure for the final 90 seconds of play, concluded the Bulldogs' scoring for the night.

UMD got one point each from seven different skaters, including Iafallo, who extended his personal-best scoring streak to nine games, and Anderson, who, along with sophomore center Adam Johnson and junior right winger Karson Kuhlman, put a game-high five shots on net.

UMD rookie goaltender Hunter Miska made 27 saves in the loss, just his second in 11 career decisions (9-2-0) while Jaillet was credited with 32 stops.

The two teams will meet for the final time during the 2016-17 regular season Saturday night at 8:07 p.m. (CT) in Denver.