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DULUTH, Minn. - A big second period put the Miami hockey team in position for a huge game one playoff victory, but No. 15/20 Minnesota Duluth struck for three third period goals to down the RedHawks 5-4 on Friday night.

Friday's result gives the Bulldogs (16-14-5) a 1-0 lead in this weekend's best-of-three National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoff series.

The Bulldogs put on the pressure early on, hemming the RedHawks (15-17-3) in their end for several shifts. With under five minutes gone by, a loose puck squirted to Cal Decowski in the high slot, where he wired a shot that got redirected by Austyn Young through traffic to put the Bulldogs on top 1-0 with just 4:32 gone by.

After allowing the first five shots on goal and struggling to get things going offensively, Jack Roslovic created a good opportunity when he drove the net, but got knocked off the puck before he could finish. The loose puck was corralled at the point and eventually sent towards the net and in off Roslovic's stick, but the officials immediately waived the score off on account of interference.

The RedHawks recorded their first shot on goal about seven minutes in as Anthony Louis grabbed a loose puck and centered to Josh Melnick, whose contested shot was stopped by Kasimir Kaskisuo. A follow up shortly after by Louis was also frozen by Kaskisuo as he found it in traffic.

Minnesota Duluth went on the evening's first power play at the 9:34 mark, but Miami was able to hold it off the board and stay within a goal by not allowing a single shot on goal during a scoreless two minutes. Miami was able to capitalize on some strong cycling pressure as a loose puck eventually slipped to Zach LaValle, who converted a sharp angle shot near the goal line below the right circle for his third goal of the year. Kevin Morris and Justin Greenberg all recorded assists on the play that left the score even at 1-1 with 7:43 to go in the opening stanza.

Despite the rough start, Miami recorded six of the final 10 shots on goal as it began finding its legs offensively. Alex Gacek nearly put MU ahead late in the frame as he pounced on a rebound from a Louis shot and chipped the puck off the goal post. A late MU rush was negated by an offensive zone penalty in with 19 seconds remaining in the frame, but the score was still tied 1-1 after 20 minutes despite UMD's 9-6 edge in shots.

Miami killed off the final 1:41 of the carryover Minnesota Duluth power play to start the second and then withstood some extended UMD pressure to leave the score tied in the early stages of the middle frame. The RedHawks converted on another Bulldog turnover as the puck hit Conor Lemirande before settling down for Ryan Siroky in the slot. The freshman forward spun and fired a shot that eluded Kaskisuo to put MU ahead 2-1 with 4:11 gone by in the second.

The RedHawks went to their first power play less than a minute later, but never got organized and spent more time chasing the puck. UMD's Andy Welinski got a step in transition and got a breakaway, where Williams stuck with his forehand to backhand move to stop his shot with the blocker.

A Miami penalty at 9:43 put Minnesota Duluth on the power play and Welinski got things even by wristing a shot top shelf from just inside the point with 10:01 left in the second period. That UMD relief didn't last long as Louis buried a breakaway 18 seconds later on feeds from Gacek and Melnick while a delayed penalty was pending. While Miami didn't convert on that power play, it did score on a subsequent man advantage when Louie Belpedio one-timed a point shot through traffic and in with 6:44 left in the middle stanza. Louis and Kiefer Sherwood both assisted on Belpedio's fourth goal of the year that made it a 4-2 MU lead.

The Red and White were forced to kill off another penalty shortly after grabbing a two-goal cushion and did so effectively. UMD started to put on some pressure at the end of the period, but MU held strong to maintain its 4-2 lead after 40 minutes of play.

Minnesota Duluth went on the power play 2:53 into the third period and Miami nearly added to its lead when Louis got a breakaway, but Kaskisuo made the stop. Just as the power play expired, Adam Johnson drove down the left wing and beat Williams with a sharp angle shot high to cut the MU lead to 4-3 with 15:06 to go in regulation. UMD then tied it up with 8:48 to go in regulation as Neal Pionk fired a point shot through traffic on the power play to even the score at 4-4.

Matching minors at the 11:55 mark opened the ice up with some 4-on-4 hockey and UMD grabbed a 5-4 lead in transition as Carson Soucy picked up a loose puck in the slot and wristed it off the post and in with 7:31 to go in regulation. Miami had a tough time finding offense the entire period as it mustered just six shots on goal against Minnesota Duluth's 13. The RedHawks had one final surge in the closing seconds with an extra skater on the ice when a loose puck found Morris' stick in the left circle, but his heavy slap shot in desperation went just wide and the Bulldogs held on for the game one victory.

UMD outshot MU 33-22 overall and went 2-for-6 on the power play while Miami finished 1-for-3 with the man advantage. Kaskisuo finished with 18 saves while Williams stopped 28 shots. Louis finished with two points on a goal and an assist.

The RedHawks hope to force a winner-take-all game three to keep their season alive on Saturday. Opening faceoff is at 8:07 p.m. ET.