Jan. 13, 2008

Jenison, Mich. - After Friday Night's 3-3 tie with Grand Valley State, Davenport knew that anything less than a victory would keep rankings at status quo. With the second to last poll coming up at the end of the month the Panthers were determined to sit at the top of the Central Region. The hardest aspect for the Panthers was that they had to go into the Lakers home arena where they have been stellar all year long.

In the first period, Davenport came out on fire with a goal from their leading scorer Bobby Collar, assisted from line-mates Rick Gadwa and Eric Troup. The Panthers continued to pressure the Lakers, but Davenport got a little sloppy defensively giving up two wide open opportunities for the Lakers. Chris Joswiak was up to challenge and he sealed the net on both GVSU chances. Moments later, a bad turnover from a Panther blue-liner in front of our own net allowed GVSU's Matt Morang to tie the game at one all. Bobby Collar came back strong for the Panthers and scored his second of four goals which turned out to be the eventual game winner just thirty seconds later to take the wind out of GVSU's sails. Collar's goal was assisted by Gadwa and Troup once again that left the period DU 2 GVSU 1 with most of the momentum on the Panthers side.

The remainder of the game was dominated by the Panthers. Dayne Gluting scored his first of two tallies assisted by Adam Thomas. Thomas and Brett Hagen would also go on to score for the Panthers. The final score of 8-1 in the favor of the Panthers should go a long way in putting Davenport atop the Central Region rankings.

"The guys knew the importance of this game and responded very well, stated Head Coach Paul Lowden. We played sixty minutes of hard working disciplined hockey. That is what it takes to win in this league."

Davenport also knows it is not the last time they will see GVSU this year. With the GMHL playoffs and the National Tournament just around the corner, these two Central Region powerhouses may face each other twice more.

Scoring totals for tonight's game:

Bobby Collar - 4 goals, 1 assist Dayne Gluting - 2 goals Adam Thomas - 1 goal, 1 assist Brett Hagen - 1 goal Eric Troup - 3 assists Bill McSween - 3 assists Rick Gadwa - 2 assists Chad Anguilm - 1 assist Kevin Moodie - 1 assist