Denver simply gave St. Cloud State too many opportunities.

On the verge of another sweep on the road, the No. 6-ranked Pioneers (12-6-1, 8-2-0 NCHC) let the Huskies (8-10-0, 3-7-0) right back in Saturday night’s game with a pair of penalties in the third period, one minor for hooking and a simultaneous major for contact to the head, gave SCSU five minutes on the man advantage in a one-goal game.

Even though they only allowed one goal during the extended penalty kill, the Pios allowed the game-winning goal just seconds later as the Huskies held on for a 4-3 victory in DU’s final contest of 2025.

After allowing a goal in the first three minutes, David Carle’s team jumped out to a 3-1 lead late in the second period thanks to freshman Reid Varkonyi’s first career goal. But the three unanswered goals in the final 21 minutes of action were enough to deny the Pioneers the top spot in the NCHC standings heading into the holiday break.

Through 10 conference games, DU has amassed a record of 8-2-0 for 24 points and sits one point behind rival North Dakota for the No. 1 spot in the standings.

Saturday’s loss was the Pios’ first in regulation since late October.

DU guaranteed itself a split with a dominant win on Friday night. The Pios scored three first-period goals on the way to a 5-1 victory. Five different players scored, including freshman Brady Millburn, who notched his first career tally late in the first period.

Freshman goaltender Quentin Miller stopped 37 of 38 shots on the way to his 11th victory between the pipes this season, good for fourth overall nationally and second among freshmen.

The Pioneers have two straight weekends off before returning to action on Jan. 2 for the start of a two-game series against Maine at Magness Arena, DU’s last nonconference series of the season.