Box Score UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich.- Davenport used a three goal first period to jump out to an early lead on Friday night.
Adam Lippert scored twice in the first period as the Panthers defeated Saginaw Valley State who is ranked No. 1 in the North division. The Panthers and Cardinals will face off again 5:00 PM Saturday at Patterson ice arena.
Davenport came out strong with one of their best periods of the season on Friday night. The Panther used great defensive play and an aggressive forecheck to build themselves a 3-0 first period lead.
The first goal came after
Daniel Hume applied great pressure on the cardinals defensemen and kept the puck in the zone. Seconds later
Zack Feher rewarded Hume by finding him in the front of the net for the game's first goal.
Later on in the first it was the line of Feher, Lippert, and Hume getting the Panthers on the board again. Once again it was Feher feeding a puck from behind the net to Hume. This time the Cardinals goalie was able to get a piece of the puck but Lippert was there to put the rebound away for his first of two goals in the period.
In the second period the teams each netted a goal. SVSU scored their first goal of the game just a couple minutes into the second. Davenport was quick to respond with a goal by
Mike Soto that was assisted by
Zachary Bodziak. The score remained 4-1 as the game headed into the third period.
The Cardinals struck quickly once again in the third period and you could sense some momentum shifting toward SVSU with the full support of a packed crowd behind them. Saginaw controlled the game for most of the third period and had Davenport scrambling on defense.
All hopes of a comeback for the Cardinals were crushed with less than five minutes remaining when Davenport forward
Zachary Bodziak put away a loose puck in front of the net to give Davenport the 5-3 victory.
Post-Game Notes
Davenport outshot the cardinals 20-8 in the first period…Davenport is now has a 6-4 all-time record against Saginaw Valley State…Davenport is now 6-1 in conference play.
