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DULUTH, Minn. -- The Miami hockey team responded from tough outing on Friday with a spirited effort in its regular season finale, but an early third period goal was never answered in an eventual 3-1 loss at Minnesota Duluth on Saturday night.

MU finishes the regular season 15-16-3 and 9-13-2-2 in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

The Bulldogs (15-14-5, 11-10-3-1 NCHC) went on an early power play and the RedHawks were able to escape that situation thanks in part to a strong pad stop by Jay Williams on a point shot through traffic. UMD registered five of the first six shots on goal of the frame and one of those found the net as Willie Corrin was able to walk the puck from the left point into the slot where he was stopped on one attempt, but buried his own rebound to make it a 1-0 game 6:44 in.

Miami was called for another penalty midway through the frame, but created the best scoring chance of the ensuing two minutes as Sean Kuraly burst with speed down the left wing and wristed a shot that squirted through Kasimir Kaskisuo and began trickling towards the net. The Minnesota Duluth defense was able to get to the loose puck and clear it away during a scoreless man advantage.

Play picked up for the Red and White following that penalty kill as it started to get more consistent possession in the offensive zone. Sustained pressure created a UMD penalty at the 14:34 mark, but Kaskisuo made saves on a Kiefer Sherwood one-timer from the point and a Jack Roslovic wrist shot from the left circle to keep the Bulldogs on top 1-0 after 20 minutes.

The pace of play slowed some in the second period with neither team able to get a great deal of clean looks. Miami was able to start possessing the puck for more shifts in the offensive zone, but could not get into the prime scoring areas for much of the frame. UMD took a penalty with 6:23 left in the middle stanza, but nothing came out of that as Kaskisuo made a couple more stops.

It appeared the score would hold through 40 minutes until a UMD turnover left the puck for Kuraly at the half wall. He fed Roslovic streaking down the wing, who in turn fed Kiefer Sherwood at a sharp angle on the left side, where he one-timed in his 11th goal of the season to tie the score at 1-1 after 40 minutes.

A carryover power play gave Miami fresh ice and a chance to go on the attack as the third period began, but Kaskisuo made a couple key stops to leave the score tied in the early stages of the frame. The Bulldogs regained the lead just 2:26 in as a Tony Cameranesi shot went off Williams' blocker and bounced to Charlie Sampair inside the left circle, where he fired a shot inside the near post to make it a 2-1 game.

Chances were difficult to come by for both sides for the remainder of the period. Miami took six of the first nine shots on goal of the period, but very few after falling behind were of the quality variety. An icing infraction by UMD allowed MU to pull Williams for a sixth skater with 2:09 remaining to try and press for a tying goal. Miami had a couple strong chances, with probably the best coming off Kuraly's stick when the puck was sent to him at the right circle, but Kaskisuo gloved that.

The RedHawks maintained possession in the zone throughout stoppages for over a solid minute, but Kaskisuo continued to find pucks through traffic and cover. Eventually, the Bulldogs cleared the zone and a loose puck was gathered in the Red and White zone by Alex Iafallo, who turned and fired the shot into the vacated net to seal the contest with 16 seconds left.

Ten of Miami's 21 shots came in the third period and Minnesota Duluth also put 21 shots on net. The RedHawks went 0-for-3 on the power play while killing off both Bulldog man advantages. Williams made 18 saves while Kaskisuo stopped 20 at the other end.

These same teams meet in a best-of-three NCHC Playoff series, which begins in Duluth on Friday night at 8:07 p.m.