- PAUL - Meeting in the postseason for the third year in a row and for the second consecutive season in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff semifinals, Friday鈥檚 battle between fourth-seeded Denver and second-seeded Duluth lived up to its billing.
The game was tight.
There was little room on the ice for either side to work.
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It was low scoring until the final minutes when the Bulldogs pulled away from the Pioneers via a pair of empty-net goals for a 3-0 victory to join St. Cloud State in Saturday鈥檚 championship game. Puck drop is at 7:38 p.m.
The empty-net goals came courtesy of sophomore defenseman Louie Roehl with 1:38 to play and freshman wing Cole Koepke on a solo breakaway with less than 30 seconds to go.
Koepke broke a scoreless tie 42 seconds into the third period by firing a shot through traffic, taking advantage of a screen by senior captain Parker Mackay. It was Koepke鈥檚 sixth goal of his rookie season and first at Xcel Energy Center since scoring for Hermantown in the 2016 Class A state championship win over Breck.
Koepke, a senior on that Hermantown squad, was one of the heroes back on Nov. 17 in Denver, scoring 52 seconds into overtime to give UMD a 4-3 win to snap a six-game losing skid against the Pioneers. UMD sophomore defenseman Scott Perunovich forced the extra period that night by scoring with 1.8 seconds left in regulation.
The Bulldogs thought a second former Hawk, freshman center Jesse Jacques, had scored with 10:35 to go in the third period. Called a goal on the ice, it was overturned by video review.
Jacques was in the lineup as the Bulldogs鈥� third-line center Friday because fellow freshman center Jackson Cates was out with an illness. A teammate of Koepke鈥檚 at Hermantown in 2015-16 - who also scored in that year鈥檚 Class A final - Jacques was in the lineup for just the fourth time since Jan. 18.
UMD junior Hunter Shepard, the NCHC鈥檚 Goaltender of the Year and a semifinalist for national goalie of the year, made 25 saves for his sixth shutout of the season and school-record 14th of his career.
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The Pioneers went with freshman Detroit Red Wings draft pick Filip Larsson in goal against the Bulldogs, despite the fact that sophomore Devin Cooley shut UMD out twice this season - the only goalie to do that this season.
Larsson gave up four goals in the uncharacteristic 5-2 game won by the Bulldogs on Feb. 15 in Duluth. On Friday, he stopped 30 shots.
The Pioneers had won eight of their last 10 against the Bulldogs - the two split their two regular-season series in 2018-19 - but the rivalry is significantly tighter than the records show.
Over the last six years, 15 games have been decided by a single goal including 10 of the last 14 meetings.
Denver
0-0-0-0
Minn. Duluth
0-0-0-0First period - No scoring. Penalties - Ryan Barrow, DU (slashing), 6:58.
Second period - No scoring. Penalties - Tanner Laderoute, UMD (boarding), 8:07; Ian Mitchell, DU (hooking), 12:39.
Third period - XXXXX. Penalties - AXXXXX.
Shots on goal - DU 8-11-00-00; UMD 6-15-00-00. Goalies - Filip Larsson (00 shots-00 saves); Hunter Shepard, UMD (00-00). Power plays - DU 0-of-0; UMD 0-of-0. Referees - Joe Sullivan, Nick Krebsbach. Linesmen - XXXXX. Att. - 0000.
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