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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Coming off their best weekend of Hockey of the season, a pair of wins over No. 8 Liberty to win the inaugural “Blue and Gray Cup”, Davenport must remain focused for three games against top-6 conference opponents. The Panthers begin with a match-up against No. 6 Adrian on Thursday night in Adrian and then on Friday night back in Grand Rapids for the Panthers home-opener. Davenport wraps up the weekend with the start of the “Good Luck DUck” series against Oakland at home on Sunday.
 
Going into the series against Liberty, the Panthers offense was in a slump having scored only four goals in their previous three games compared to averaging nearly nine goals in their games to start the season. But the Davenport offense returned to form in Lynchburg winning 6-3 on Friday night and 6-5 in a shootout on Saturday.
 
Both Mason Bohlinger and Robert Kleiman led the way for the Panthers. Bohlinger picked up a goal in the first game and then scored two goals and had two assists in Saturday's game. Kleiman recorded two goals and an assist in game one and added another goal in game two. Kleiman, shooting third for the Panthers in the shootout, then scored to break a 1-1 shootout tie. Bohlinger and Kleiman are tied for the team lead with seven goals apiece. Bohliner leads in assists with 10 and points with 17. Kleiman isn't far behind with nine assists for a total of 16 points.
 
Adrian Preview
 
Adrian has proven to be a tough team to beat so far this season. The sixth ranked Bulldogs come in with a 9-1 overall record. Adrian split a pair of games at Lindenwood a few weekends ago winning the first game 5-4 and falling in game two 6-5 for their only loss of the season. Since that lost, Adrian has swept UM-Dearborn and then swept the previously unbeaten and third-ranked Minot State. The Bulldogs outscored Minot State 14-4.
 
The Bulldogs have a high scoring offense that is led by Senate Patton and Robert Bodette. Patton leads the team with 12 goals. He also has 10 assists on the season for a team high 22 points. Bodette is second on the team with 11 goals. Andrew Amodeo is the team's assist leader with 16 on the season. Ronayne Louis will likely get the start in net for Adrian as he has a 5-0 record and a 1.40 goal against average. But Matt Anderson has been almost in good in net with a 2.97 goal against average in five games played.
 
“These are two huge games in the GLCHL for the regular season titles and they are also a top-5 team and just swept Minot State at home. They beat Minot 8-1 and I thought Minot was one of the more impressive teams we have seen this year so that says a lot. They are hot and they usually start the season slow and pick things up as the season progresses. They are very tough to play in the playoffs. But this year they came right out of the gate playing good hockey. They are dangerous and didn't lose a lot of people from last year's team. They are physical and play playoff hockey all year,” said coach Phil Sweeney.
 
Scouting Oakland
 
Oakland comes into the “Good Luck DUck” series opener with a 6-2-1 overall record and on a two game losing streak. The Grizzlies lost a pair of 2-1 decisions to Minot State last weekend with the first loss coming in a shootout. Oakland took on Minot State in the middles two games of Minot's four game weekend against Oakland and Adrian. Oakland will take on Western Michigan on Friday and Saturday.
 
The currently fourth-ranked Grizzlies will be led by Billy Balent, Frank Matyok, and Anthony Colizza. Balent leads the team with six goals and 12 points. Matyok and Colizza are tied for second in points with five goals and five assists each. Anthony Coles leads the team with 8 assists. Coles also has 10 points on the season. Oakland will rely on their two goalies to keep them in the game as both have goal against averages of 2.00 or less. Matt Toter will likely get the start. He has a 2.00 GAA and 0.92 save percentage on the season.
 
“Losing the duck left one of the worst tastes in my mouth that you could imagine this summer. When we went to the National Tournament, I actually rode over to the coaches meeting with the Oakland coaches and they had the duck in the van, painted Oakland colors and it was a horrible trip. It was like riding in the car with an ex-girlfriend, it was very awkward.  The duck means a lot and beating Oakland means a lot, they are another top-5 team. So if you win the duck, you win the series and that has a big impact on the conference standings. We've had one of the most heated rivalries in the ACHA. We have to concentrate on Thursday and Friday first, but everyone is definitely looking forward to Sunday.”