OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Panthers finished their sweep in the state of Oklahoma by downing the host Bronchos of Central Oklahoma by a final score of 4-3. Four Panthers scored while goaltender Phil Graveline continued his unbeaten record in his first season with DU.
In a game that began much like the last, the Panthers found themselves up 2-0 in the first period, coming by way of goals from freshman forwards Kyle McDowell and Justin Smith. Both attackers have scored in back-to-back contests against the #17 ranked team in the nation.
While the Panthers outshot the Bronchos 13-6 in the first, UCO would finally respond, as they came out of the gates in the second period out-hitting and out-chancing the Panthers. The rest of the contest became a see-saw battle between the two squads as a rip from a UCO forward beat Graveline to cut the Panther lead to one. The Panthers then began to fall into penalty trouble as the Bronchos build more momentum from their powerplay as they carried the play in the DU zone. The visitors caught a break when Ben Dykstra was able to net a short-handed goal to build the Panther lead back to two.
Killing penalties finally caught up with the Panthers again as UCO capitalized on the powerplay, narrowing the score back to a mere 3-2 deficit. Davenport regained the two-goal advantage later in the period as Adam Kuhn was able to one-time a feed from behind the net past the UCO netminder. The two teams skated to the second intermission as Davenport held onto the two-goal lead.
The final period saw the host Bronchos draw first blood as they converted another 2-on-1 opportunity past Graveline. UCO was continually able to break down the Panthers' defense by way of odd-man rushes and getting the puck towards the DU goal. However, similar to the previous two nights, the Panthers would hold onto the victory as UCO tried desperately as time expired to even the score.
Phil Graveline stood tall in net as he registered 17 saves on the evening, while Kuhn was credited with the game-winning goal. The Panthers fired 50 shots on the UCO netminder, who handed in a stellar performance and kept the Bronchos in the game throughout the afternoon.
The Panthers return to the ice this Thursday evening in Adrian, MI to take on GLCHL conference foe Adrian College.
