GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Fifth-ranked North Dakota fell, 3-2, to No. 9/10 Denver in the series finale on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 11,673 from Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, N.D.
 
The Pioneers (13-10-2, 9-5-0 NCHC) broke a 2-2 deadlock with a power play goal in the third period to salvage a series split and hand North Dakota (18-6-0, 10-4-0 NCHC) its first loss in its last 10 games decided in regulation.
 
UND remains in first place in the NCHC standings with 32 points and sits five points ahead of Denver for the top spot with 10 league games to play.
 
Cole Reschny made it three straight games with multiple points, as the freshman dished out a pair of assists to close his weekend with four points (1G, 3A). The rookie also went 11-5 in the faceoff dot to pace all skaters and was a plus-2 on the night.
 
Dylan James (13) and Jake Livanavage (4) each potted goals for the Fighting Hawks in the loss, with James knotting the game up at 1-1 late in the first period and Livanavage giving NoDak a 2-1 lead with a highlight goal near the midway point of the middle stanza.
 
After Denver tied the game at 2-2 in the second on a goal from Eric Pohlkamp, the sides went back-and-forth in the third period until DU's James Reeder pounced on a loose puck in the slot while on the man advantage to give the visitors a 3-2 lead.
 
UND nearly drew level in the game's closing minutes, generating a handful of grade-A opportunities with the goaltender pulled, but could not find the equalizer as the teams split the points in the conference standings.
 
North Dakota will hit the road for a showdown with Arizona State beginning on Friday night at 8:00 p.m. (CT) on NCHC.tv and the Fighting Hawks Radio Network.
 
Postgame Notes 

• UND falls to 161-139-16 all-time against Denver and 95-49-10 at home
• Cole Reschny tallied his third straight game with multiple points on a pair of assists
• Reschny has 20 points (3G, 17A) over his last 13 games
• The loss was only the second this season when leading or tied after two (18-2-0)
• Jan Špunar finished with 14 saves and fell to 12-2-0 this season
• UND went 0-for-3 on the power play while DU was 1-for-4
• This weekend marked the first time this season not scoring a power play goal in a series
• Dylan James moved into a tie for the team lead with his 13th goal
• Jake Livanavage scored his fourth goal of the season
• Saturday marked the first time with a negative scoring differential in the third period since Oct. 24 at Clarkson
• Shots were 35-17 in favor of UND
• Faceoffs were 38-24 in favor of UND, with Reschny leading UND at 11-5

How It Happened 

First Period:                                                     
14:09 | DU – Kristian Epperson (7) from Clarke Caswell (16)
17:39 | UND – Dylan James (13) from Cole Reschny (19) and Sam Laurila (6)

Second Period: 
08:43 | UND – Jake Livanavage (4) from Ben Strinden (10) and Reschny (20)
12:53 | DU – Eric Pohlkamp (14) from Sam Harris (10) and Boston Buckberger (14)

Third Period:
11:19 | DU – James Reeder (6, PP) from Epperson (5) and Samu Salminen (10)

For more information on North Dakota hockey, visit FightingHawks.com or follow on social media @UNDmhockey.