Box Score
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, No. 13 Davenport again struggled in the second period allowing No. 6 Liberty to get back into the game and eventually take a 3-2 lead through two periods. Another Liberty goal early was too much for the Panthers to overcome as they fell 4-3. Davenport and Liberty will be in action again tomorrow night at 7:30 PM.
Zack Blumke put Davenport on the board first. With Liberty on the power play, Blumke was able to get behind the Flames' defense and finish off the breakaway goal short-handed goal to put the Panthers up 1-0. Davenport then capitalized on a late penalty by Liberty when Ben Dykstra's wrist shot found the back of the net.
As was the case last weekend in both games Davenport was unable to transfer their momentum from the first period to the second. Liberty came out firing and got their first goal just over a minute into the period. Liberty scored two more unanswered goals to close out the period to take the 3-2 advantage heading in to the third.
Davenport had their chances in the second period including a shot that appeared to get past the Liberty goalie but was waived off by the officials and a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar and hit the goalie in the back before being covered up.
In the third period, Liberty scored 6:36 into the period to increase their lead to two goals. Mason Bohlinger scored a power play goal with just over seven minutes to play to cut the lead to one but Davenport wasn't able to score again.
Davenport drops to 14-11 on the year while Liberty improves to 16-6-3. Davenport and Liberty will be in action again tomorrow night in a 7:30 PM game.
Post-Game Quotes – Head Coach Phil Sweeney
Thoughts on game – “Zack Blumke and Stephen Flood played awesome tonight. Blumke has come a long way in a short period of time and it's fun to see a guy develop like that and Flood is playing like he has been with this team all season.”
On second period struggle – “It's baffling that we keep playing this bad in the second period. The guys need to learn how to play a full 60 minutes.
Post-Game Notes
The all-time series between Davenport and Liberty is now all tied at up 13-13-1…Over their last three games, Davenport has been outscored 10-2 in the second period.
