The Denver Pioneers let a win slip away in their season opener.

No. 4 Denver led 1-0 for nearly a period and a half, but its discipline dipped in the third period and third-ranked Minnesota-Duluth cashed in. The Bulldogs scored twice in a minute on different power plays and used that stretch to win 2-1 Wednesday night at Baxter Arena in Omaha, Neb.

Graduate transfer Bo Hanson, appearing in his first game for DU after three seasons at St. Lawrence, ripped a second-period shot from the point that beat UMD goaltender Ryan Fanti (28 saves).

The teams traded too-many-men penalties midway through the third period and the one against the Pioneers was their undoing.

Jackson Cates smacked home a rebound for his second goal in two National Collegiate Hockey Conference “pod” games to even the game at 1. The Pioneers took another penalty 24 seconds later and Kobe Roth also scored his second of pod play. Magnus Chrona (18 saves) couldn’t slide over quickly enough to deny Roth.

The Bulldogs also trailed in the third period of their opener Tuesday but came back to beat Omaha 5-3.

Denver captain Kohen Olischefski said he couldn’t pin down what it was that went wrong.

“Things really got away from us in the third,” Olischefski said. “Which is a little disappointing, but again, it’s the first game of the year so we have a lot of time to fix things like that.”

The Pioneers had a late, abbreviated power play but the lead held and the day’s second low-scoring pod game went final.

“There hasn’t been a real crispness to the offensive play yet but I’m sure that will come,” Denver coach David Carle said.

“We look forward to our next game. That’s the great thing about this pod, we get a day off and then we get another great opponent coming up later this week.”

No. 4 Denver opens hockey season in Omaha, begins mad dash ‘pod’ journey