Bulldogs fail to pick up sweep of No. 5 Denver

DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth got one win over the No. 5 ranked team in the country on Friday, but failed to sweep them, losing 2-1 on Saturday to Denver in NCHC play at Amsoil Arena.

Senior defenseman Owen Gallatin scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs in the second period.

“Our team continues to grow,” Bulldogs coach Scott Sandelin said. “Sometimes you don’t always grow through wins. I liked our game tonight.”

UMD fell behind 2-0 when junior center Samu Salminen struck for the Pioneers in the final minute of the first period and senior center Carter King scored three-plus minutes into the second.

Bulldogs freshman goaltender Klayton Knapp made 28 saves in his 10th start of the season Saturday one night after making a career-high 42 saves.

Denver went back to its No. 1 goalie on Saturday after giving sophomore Freddie Halyk his second start of the season Friday. Davis, a senior, made 29 saves.

“It was a really good game,” Sandelin said. “I thought we were better for 60 minutes tonight. It was a pretty even hockey game. Both teams had their opportunities both ways. Both goalies were good. Theirs made a couple big saves on the power play. Knapper made some saves. It was about as even — in my opinion — as a game gets.”

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Gallatin’s goal was his 75th career point, making him the first Bulldogs defenseman since 2021 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner Scott Perunovich to reach the milestone. Gallatin, who made a game-winning save in Friday’s win, tipped a shot through heavy traffic by senior wing Carter Loney to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard in the second period.

“A big thing for us was sifting pucks through, getting them on net,” Loney said of the goal. “That was one of those situations where we threw it and we had eyes in front of the net. It went in.”

Gallatin has 19 goals and 56 assists in 139 games over four seasons. Perunovich posted 105 points in three seasons.

Sandelin kept Loney on the top line Saturday with senior center Dominic James and sophomore wing Anthony Menghini. Sandelin moved Loney up to the top line in place of freshman wing Blake Bechen during Friday’s game, citing the trustworthiness and reliability of Loney.

“Those two guys are super quick, a fast-paced game they play,” Loney said. “When I’m out there with them, I’m a little more reliable with them. I can slow the game down for them and they don’t have to worry as much. That’s a huge part, to take some pressure off them in some situations.”

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James said he welcomes the accountability that Loney brings to the line, calling the veteran winger the “ultimate Swiss Army knife” of the lineup.

“He brings a sense of stability and he’s not afraid to stick it to me or tell me something that I need to do,” James said. “I’ve been friends with him for so long and if I need to hear it, he’ll give it to me. That’s something I need. He’s definitely done it this weekend.”

UMD’s power play got off to a comparatively slow start Saturday after needing a combined 31 seconds to score two power play goals on its two power plays Friday. UMD started Saturday 0-for-2 on power plays, generating five shots on goal. UMD had a 58 second 4-on-3 advantage in the second where freshman wing Max Plante caught iron.

The Bulldogs finished 0-for-3 on the power play Saturday with its last advantage coming with just over a second left in the game.

Max Plante had his seven-game point streak snapped Saturday. It was just the second time in 11 games this season that the freshman wing from Hermantown didn’t register a point the second time in eight games he didn’t get a goal.

Plante has six goals and eight assists for 14 points this year. His 1.27 points per game this year rank second in the league to Denver senior wing Jack Devine.

The Bulldogs fell back into a tie for sixth in the NCHC with Colorado College after jumping the night before alone into fifth place. A win Saturday over Denver would have lifted UMD into the top four of the league, for at least one week. The Bulldogs are on the bye next weekend, and could drop further with the league’s other eight teams in action.

The captain isn’t accepting any moral victories, but he’s excited after the split. That was the perspective of James after the team missed out on getting to .500 in conference play (6-8) while falling to 10-13-1 overall on the season.

“There’s no moral victories. That should be our standard. We’re a really good hockey team,” James said. “But don’t get me wrong. We’re really excited the way we’re moving. I got a text from an old parent of an alum that said, ‘You guys are starting to look like a team.’ That, to me, being the captain, really touches my heart. I feels really good. And I agree with him.”

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Next week is UMD’s final bye week of the 2024-25 season. They return Feb. 7-8 with a series in Nebraska against the Omaha Mavericks.

Denver 1-1-0—2
Minnesota Duluth 0-1-0—1
First period
1. DU, Samu Salminen (Eric Pohlkamp, Sam Harris), 19:16
Second period
2. DU, Carter King (Jack Devine, Eric Pohlkamp), 3:09
3. UMD, Owen Gallatin (Carter Loney, Dominic James), 15:33
Third period
No scoring.
Saves — Matt Davis, DU, 29; Klayton Knapp, UMD, 28
Power play — DU 0-1; UMD 0-3. Penalties — DU 4-8; UMD 2-4.