DENVER – It took the Wisconsin men's hockey team (7-5-0) the first period to get settled into their game against No. 2 Denver (9-2-3) at Magness Arena, and that was a key difference in a 6-5 defeat on Saturday.

The slow start didn't translate on the scoreboard as Wisconsin's Seamus Malone opened the scoring in the game on a fortunate bounce. A centering pass on the rush by Malone, intended for Max Zimmer, was knocked in by Denver defenseman Michael Davies and UW grabbed a 1-0 lead at 12:04.

Carrying the play for much of the first period, Denver got on the board in similar fashion at 16:16 when Matt Marcinew's centering pass was knocked in by UW's Grant Besse attempting to break up the play.

Will Butcher gave Denver its first lead at 16:16, firing a wrist shot from the point through traffic and past UW goaltender Jack Berry for a 2-1 score.

That is the way the first period ended, with Denver holding a 20-9 shot advantage.

"I don't think we were quite as sharp as we were last night," head coach Tony Granato explained. "Early in the game defensively, we weren't quite as aggressive as we were last night. We gave their team, which is extremely talented, a little more time and space and that is enough for them to make plays.

"I love the way we came back and battled, though."

DU took a late penalty in the first period, and the Badgers capitalized quickly in the second. On the rush, Grant Besse skated down the right wing, then fed Luke Kunin in the slot for a one timer that beat DU goaltender Tanner Jaillet to make it a 2-2 game.

While play evened out, Denver took over on the scoreboard on a pair of goals by Henrik Borgstrom and one by Michael Davies to get to the second break up 5-2.

To start the third, the Badgers killed a penalty, then saw Zimmer's nifty stick handling finished off with a backhand shot that found the net at 3:34 to close to 5-3.

Two penalties, one minute, three seconds apart slowed the rally, and then made it more difficult when Troy Terry tallied on the ensuing 5-on-3 at 5:29 to give the Pioneers a 6-3 lead. 

But Denver's Evan Ritt took a five-minute major penalty for checking from behind at 9:01 and the Badgers took advantage.

"That five-on-three goal was huge, but we didn't stop," Granato stated. "We came back at them and probably had four or five more pucks that were real close to going in. We just couldn't get another bounce around the net."

First it was Grant Besse taking a behind-the-back pass from Ryan Wagner, who was below the goal line, and the senior scored his fifth of the season at 9:55.

Then at 12:24, while still on the major power play, Seamus Malone finished off a cross-ice pass from Will Johnson to close to within one at 6-5.

Denver made a goaltending change to Evan Cowley to slow down the pace, but the Badgers continued the pressure. They couldn't find the net for the equalizer and fell short on the comeback bid.

UW finished 3-for-7 on the power play, while Denver went 2-for-7, including a five-on-three goal and a second power-play goal as a five-on-three expired.

After getting outshot 20-9 in the first period, the Badgers held the advantage in the second and third periods. Denver finished with a 45-42 shot advantage.

Berry made a career-high 39 saves in the game, and freshman Johan Blomquist made his collegiate debut for a 1:09 stretch during UW's major power play to give the Badgers a few extra moments of rest. Berry returned to the net when DU made its goaltending change.  

Wisconsin returns to the ice next Friday and Saturday for its final Kohl Center series of 2016 when Omaha visits. The teams meet Friday at 7:30 p.m. CT and Saturday at 8 p.m.

"It was a good weekend for us because we learned from what just happened," Granato said. "There are some areas we need to get better at to be a top team, but I don't think we are that far away from being in a position to beat these top teams."