DENVER, Colo. -- At times throughout the first half of the season, top-ranked North Dakota has been able to overcome periodic slow starts and early deficits.

Tonight, already without defenseman Troy Stecher (injury) and forward Mark MacMillan (game misconduct), UND dug a hole out of which it could not climb in a 4-1 loss to No. 11 Denver.

The Pioneers built 2-0 and 3-1 leads on their home ice at Magness arena and snapped UND's 5-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1).

UND was able to withstand a 5-minute DU power play after MacMillan was given a checking-from-behind major and game misconduct just seven minutes into the game, but the residual effects of playing without its No. 1 center took a toll on UND, which was plagued by penalties and missed opportunities.

“We allowed (the penalties) to be too big of an impact on the game,” said UND head coach Dave Hakstol, whose team fell to 12-4-2 overall and 5-3-1-0 in the NCHC. “Starting the way it did had a real impact on the start and the entire 50-some minutes that were left.”

Defenseman Josiah Didier opened the scoring with 1:29 left in the first period, joining a rush late and beating Zane McIntyre with a rocket of a wrist shot from the high slot for his first goal of the season.

It was one of three goals the Pioneers would receive from defensemen.

The lone Pioneer goal by a forward came at 12:49 of the second period with DU on the power play. Ty Loney fed a centering pass to a streaking Quentin Shore, and shore chipped the puck over McIntyre for a 2-0 lead that held up through 40 minutes.

UND was finally able to solve DU netminder Evan Cowley off of an offensive zone faceoff 4:05 into the third period. Stephane Pattyn won the faceoff and the puck bounced off of a couple players in front before Bryn Chyzyk was able to locate it and backhand it past Cowley.

It was the third goal of the season for Chyzyk, who was back in the lineup after missing five games due to injury.

“I was just going to the net and it hit a couple of bodies and I just kind of shoveled it in,” said Chyzyk. “It was a pretty simple play and I think we need more of that tomorrow.”

UND pressed hard for the equalizer but could not bury a handful of rebound chances in front of Cowley.

DU senior defenseman Joey LaLeggia took advantage of a UND defensive breakdown and found open ice in the slot, where freshman Danton Heinen fed him a centering feed. LaLaggia beat McIntyre to the short side to make it 3-1 with 12:09 remaining.

Another DU defenseman, Will Butcher, rounded out the scoring with an empty net goal with one second remaining in the third.

“At the end of the day we didn't do enough to win,” said freshman Tucker Poolman, who moved from defense to forward for the third period. “We spotted a team like Denver a goal or two…it's always tough to come back from with a good team like Denver.

“We've had a few slow starts. It's definitely a point we need to improve on. Something we need to fix tomorrow.”

Cowley turned in a steady performance for the Pioneers, stopping 29 of 30 shots to improve to 7-4-0. McIntyre suffered just his fourth loss of the season in a 25-save effort.

“We couldn't find much of a rhythm,” said Hakstol. “Third period, we found a little bit when we made the switch and went to four lines with Tucker up front and five D. We generated a little bit but not a real consistent pace to our game. Most of it starts with play without the puck. We just weren't tight enough, we weren't very good in that area.”

UND went scoreless on three power-play opportunities while Denver's top-ranked power play went 2-6.

“I thought the penalties early really hindered us,” said Chyzyk. “We did a great job on the 5-minute PK but it took a lot of wind out of our sails and it took us a long time to recover after that. We saw a push in the third but we can't spot a team like Denver two goals. We need to stay out of the box, especially with that power play. It takes a lot of energy out of us.”

Chyzyk agreed with Poolman's assessment that UND needs to avoid slow starts out of the gate.

“That's been the case for sure. I thought we'd be ready to go today,” said Chyzyk. “We got on our heels early with the penalties. It's tough to bounce back from that, guys are tired, so we need to stay out of the box and start rolling with four lines.”

The two teams will square off again Saturday night at Magness Arena, UND's final game before the Christmas break.

Notes: UND ran its streak of successful penalty kills to 23 before Shore's second-period power-play goal. It was the first PPG UND allowed since its Friday, Nov. 21 game at St. Cloud State … Freshman forward Nick Schmaltz had his 5-game point streak come to an end while senior forward Brendan O'Donnell was held without a goal for the first time in four games … Attendance was 5,160.