LOVELAND — It took a weird one to settle the NCAA West Division final. Everything routine or reasonable was stopped.

Denver goaltender Magnus Chrona and Minnesota Duluth counterpart Ryan Fanti turned in predictably strong performances, particularly in the third period of a 2-1 Pioneers win that sent the regional hosts back to the Frozen Four.

“Fanti’s a great goalie,” Chrona said. “We’ve had great battles these six games this year.”

Fanti had recorded three straight shutouts heading into the game, a streak of 224:41 without a goal allowed. All three shutouts were in the postseason and one came against DU during the Frozen Faceoff on March 18.

Fanti extended that run well into the first period. In the meantime, Chrona allowed a goal to the Bulldogs’ Darian Gotz on the second and final shot he faced during those 20 minutes.

“I think that’s probably the lowest amount of shots I’ve had in a period,” Chrona said. “I kind of settled myself mentally to be prepared for the second one.”

Fanti (32 saves) made a 1-1 tie stand up a good while, making a series of challenging stops in the first seven minutes of the third period. He put himself in position to block a redirection and a point-blank blast. He missed a poke check, but recovered in time to stop Cameron Wright’s follow-up attempt.

There wasn’t much he could do on the winning goal. The puck hit the boards and shot straight back at Fanti, who accidentally shifted it closer to the goal line. Denver’s Carter Savoie nudged it the rest of the way.

“As a goalie, that’s probably one of the worst situations you can be in,” Chrona said.

Chrona said he watched the barrage from the other end of the ice and felt the tide turn.

“It was really nice when Carts lifted his hands,” he said. “That was a great feeling.”

UMD’s Quinn Olson made his bids at the other end. His breakaway was pushed to the outside by defenders before he threatened Chrona.

The Denver goaltender then had to help his team stave off an extra-attacker goal. He finished with 24 saves.

“I don’t think there was a passenger amongst our group tonight, and that was the most exciting thing to see,” Denver coach David Carle said.

“Excited to be going back to Boston.”