Feb. 20, 2010

BYRON CENTER, Mich. - D3 hockey team earned its first ever national tournament berth tonight with a 6-3 victory over Oakland University. Win is fourth straight for the Panthers and they are now 26-9 overall.

The Panthers started out hot in the first period scoring three goals and shutting out the Oakland offense. Garrett Russell (Midland, Mich.) scored first at the 14 minute mark, followed up by a goal from Michael Stedman (Riverside, Ont.) one minute later. Chad Ouellette (Windsor, Ont.) added a shorthanded goal to send the Panthers into the second period with a 3-0 lead.

DU stayed hot as they came out in the second and Ouellette added his second goal 20 seconds into the period from Greg Schmidt. Oakland would then add two more goals of their own, before DU added another late in the period from Brandon Madaj (Newaygo, MIch.) to end the second up 5-2.

Davenport would strike first again in the third period with a goal from Taylor Keyworth (Grand Rapids, Mich.) from Zack Feher (Livonia, Mich.). Oakland and Davenport would each add another goal to give DU the 6-3 victory.

With the victory tonight Davenport will earn a berth to the D3 National Tournament in Fort Meyer, Fla. Stayed tuned to www.dupanthers.com for more tournament information.