GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport will travel to Springfield, Ill. this weekend to take part in the 10^th Annual ACHA Men's D1 Showcase. The Panthers who started their season last week with two convincing wins at Western Michigan will take on North Dakota State, Central Oklahoma, and Illinois in their three games in the showcase. Follow @DUAthletics on twitter for live game updates for each of the games this weekend.
 
Previewing North Dakota State
 
North Dakota State got their season started a few weeks ago when they hosted Iowa State. The Bison lost both games by scores of 9-4 and 5-2. Tyler Groth led North Dakota State with one goal and two assists. Blake Aakhus tallied three assists in the two games. In total, six different Bison scored their six goals.
 
Jared Mol started both games for NDSU and allowed all 14 goals. Alex Cimochowski played 20 minutes in one game and didn't allow a goal.
 
This is the first meeting between Davenport and North Dakota State.
 
Scouting Central Oklahoma
 
Central Oklahoma has had an up and down start to their season. The Bronchos opened with two dominating wins over the University of Arkansas. The Bronchos came back and lost a couple of games at home against Robert Morris University (Ill.). In their last series, Central Oklahoma took a pair of games from Lindenwood, who was ranked first at the time.
 
The Bronchos have several players who can put the puck in the back of the net. Jordan Bledsoe, Rylan Duley, and Donald Geary each have scored four goals on the season. Tory Caldwell has played in five games for Central Oklahoma and recorded a 2-2 record while accumulating a 2.20 goal against average.
 
The Panthers will have to stay out of the penalty box against the Bronchos as they have scored five goals on the power play already this season. Davenport is 2-0 all time against Central Oklahoma with both games played at Central Oklahoma during the 2010-11 season. The Panthers won 5-2 and 4-3.
 
Illinois Preview
 
Illinois will make their first trip away from their home ice to take part in the showcase. The Illini are off to a 3-0-1 start to the season. After starting the season with a 5-4 shootout loss to Michigan State, Illinois came back with three straight wins against the Spartans and John Carroll University.
 
The Illini are led by John Olen who has four goals and three assists in the team's first four games. Anthony Carlsen has racked up the most assists on the team with five. Illinois is also a very good team on the power play with eight on the season.
 
Davenport is 0-1 all-time against the Illini's D1 team. Last season, Davenport and Illinois played each other in the ACHA Showcase with the Illini coming out on top by a score of 4-2.