Denver Defeats Duluth, and Both Teams Head to the N.C.A.A. Tournament The University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs mounted a spectacular comeback, scoring three goals to force overtime (and double overtime), but then, with one bad rebound, it was all over. The University of Denver defeated UMD, 4-3, in Friday afternoon's W.C.H.A. Final Five semifinals in front of 12,804 fans at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It took 88 minutes, 14 seconds, the longest game in tournament history, for Denver freshman winger Zac Larraza to score his first collegiate goal and send the Pioneers to the championship game. "That was a hell of a game," UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. We dug ourselves a hole at the beginning of the game. Our guys battled out of that. Both teams traded a lot of chances. At the end, [Denver] got the bounce by just putting pucks on the net. The two teams were playing for pride, as both were already assured berths in the N.C.A.A. tournament. But the loss is a painful one for the Bulldogs, who were hoping to win the tournament for the first time since 2009. For the third year in a row, UMD suffered a loss in its first game of the tournament. Denver went on to fall in Saturday's championship game to North Dakota. The Pioneers, who had to defeat Michigan Tech Thursday to advance to the semifinals, started strong against the Bulldogs, who had a quarterfinal round bye. Denver got on the board first with a goal from center Shawn Ostrow on a 2-on-1 break at the 8:01 mark of the first. They extended the lead to three with goals from wingers Jason Zucker and Dustin Jackson midway through the second. UMD's response came from junior winger Mike Seidel, who was the hero of UMD's double overtime win in the first round of the W.C.H.A. Playoffs last Saturday. Seidel got the Bulldogs on the board at the 10:57 mark of the second, diving behind Denver goalie Sam Brittain to tip the puck in. Just 2:48 later, Seidel pulled the Bulldogs within one by blasting a slap shot from between the circles over Brittain's shoulder. "We try to stress getting that first one and go from there," Seidel said. UMD continued to rack up scoring chances and it was senior captain Jack Connolly, a Hobey Baker finalist for the second year in a row, who tied the game midway through the third. The Bulldogs continued to attack, but could not get another puck past Brittain. Finally, at the 8:14 mark of the second overtime, Denver's Larraza finished the game with his first career goal. Denver defenseman Josiah Didier fired a shot into UMD goalie Kenny Reiter's chest, and Larraza was perfectly positioned to scoop up the puck and fire it into a wide open net. "I had fresh legs in overtime," joked Larraza, a 13th forward who had only about 10 shifts in the game. This is the most memorable goal for me. UMD dominated in shots on goal, 70-49, but Brittain stopped a school-record 67 shots. "They threw everything at the net," Brittain said. Give them a lot of credit for being able to swarm us at times. The Bulldogs have been in this position before. Last year, after being eliminated by Bemidji State in the quarterfinals of the Final Five, they went on to win four straight N.C.A.A. tournament games to capture the national championship. UMD will begin its title defense against Maine in the Northeast Regional Saturday in Worchester, Mass. Denver takes on Ferris State Friday in the Midwest Regional in Green Bay, Wis. "We're fortunate to have a second chance to keep playing," Sandelin said. We've got to regroup and have a good week and prepare because there are no second chances now.