Jan. 11, 2008
Grand Rapids, Mich. - The weekend series between Davenport and Grand Valley State was much aticipated and after one of the two games, not much was decided at least for the scoreboard matters. Grand Valley scored two third period goals to rally for a 3-3 tie on Davenport's home ice. and will take the momentum into tomorrow's series finale on their home ice of Georgetown Ice Arena in Jenison, MI.
The first period started with a bang as both teams came out hitting and trying to take every advantage they could to gain early momentum. At the 17:47 mark, a Grand Valley player split in between the goalie and a Panthers defender up against the boards and slipped the puck back into the middle where a Laker player was waiting to put it away and he notched the first goal of the rivalry game. The period would then turn into a defensive showdown as each team made siginficant threats but no shots found the back of the net ending the period with the score GVSU - 1, Davenport - 0. The Panthers outshot the Lakers 18-13 but none really posed any great threat to get behind the Lakers netminder.
DU must have gotten a good pep talk during the first intermission because they came out with much more intensity and focus. They understood the meaning of this game when it comes to Central Region rankings and they evened the game up just 7:41 into the period when Eric Troup launched a shot from a distance and the puck took a strange hop under the Lakers goalie to tie the game at 1-1. Just five minutes later at the 7:07 mark, Davenport struck again, this time on a Rick Gadwa goal assisted by Troup and Bobby Collar. The Panthers would then take full control of the game with a goal less than 3:00 later by Jonah Rogowski off some beautiful passing from Kevin Doyle and Dayne Gluting. DU would go into the 2nd intermission with a 3-1 lead.
GVSU did not quit though as they wanted to make a statement on the Panthers home ice and they scored twice in the 3rd period to send the game to overtime. A big moment in the 3rd period would come when the Lakers fought off a 5 on 3 midway through the period and followed it up immediately with a great power kill 2:00 later. The first of the two GVSU goals came on a Laker power play but the game-tying goal was a sneaky play through a Panthers defender and by the DU goalie Eddie Wheeler.
Each team had some good chances in the extra frame but were unable to find the back of the net. Davenport will look to regroup after a tough tie tonight when they travel to GVSU's home rink tomorrow for a 9:00 PM faceoff.
