DENVER – No. 15 Omaha had plenty of chances against No. 6 Denver Sunday at Magness Arena.

Playing shorthanded – due to illness and injury – against the nation's top offensive team, the Mavericks (14-7) held their own against the Pioneers (14-5-1) when the teams were skating at even strength.

Unfortunately for Omaha, that didn't happen much in a game that featured 20 total penalties for 54 combined minutes.

The Mavericks came up empty on 10 power-play opportunities in a 4-0 defeat in a penalty-filled series finale. The Pioneers, on the other hand, scored on three of their 10 tries to remain unbeaten at home.

"I thought we played hard and smart, 5-on-5," Omaha coach Mike Gabinet said. "It was a good response from our group tonight. Unfortunately, with 44 minutes not 5-on-5 play, it was not to our advantage."

Two of Denver's three power-play goals in the game came with Omaha serving a five-minute major. The first, scored by Carter Savoie, came 10:30 in while Joey Abate was in the penalty box for boarding.

The Mavericks spent eight of the 20 first-period minutes on the penalty kill and trailed 1-0 after one. Still, they outshot the Pioneers in that frame and the next before DU posted a 14-4 edge in the third.

Omaha twice had a 5-on-3 advantage during the second period, but it couldn't find a way to get the puck past Magnus Chrona. The Denver goalie finished with 31 saves while shutting out the Mavericks.

Brett Stapley made it 2-0 Pioneers midway through the second with the only even-strength goal of the game. Antti Tuomisto and Carter Mazur added power-play scores in the third to cap the scoring for DU.

Although his team dropped a series for the first time, Gabinet said Omaha improved from Saturday. The Mavericks were down only 2-0 midway through the third when Tuomisto scored after Taylor Ward was handed a five-minute major – Omaha's second of the night – and a game misconduct for a crosscheck.

Eighteen of Denver's 37 shots on goal came during power-play time in the penalty-filled contest.

"Special teams are, obviously, a part of the game. But I don't think they should be the whole game," Gabinet said. "Tonight, with 44 minutes not being 5-on-5, it makes for an interesting flow."