Saturday's Live Audio Link

THE TEAMS:  No. 7 Davenport (18-8/13-3 GLCHL) vs. Grand Valley State (16-1-1)
 
THE GAME: Friday, December 14, 2012 • Allendale, Mich. • 9:00 p.m. • Saturday, December 15, 2012 • Patterson Ice Center • 7:30 p.m.
 
BROADCAST INFORMATION:  Internet Audio: Audio for Saturday's game against GVSU will be available on the Davenport Athletic Network (DAN). 
  
PANTHERS VERSUS LAKERS: Davenport will face a familiar opponent this weekend as the Panthers and Lakers have met 28-time before. The Panthers lead the all-time series 20-6-2. Davenport holds a 10-3-2 advantage at home and is 8-3 on the road against GVSU. Since moving up to ACHA D1, Davenport and GVSU have split the four meeting between the two teams. In those four meeting neither team has been able to protect home-ice.
 
WEEKEND RECAP: Tuesday, Dec. 4 – In their final regular season meeting with #2 Adrian, the Panthers were able to keep their hopes alive for the GLCHL Regular Season Championship defeating the Bulldogs 3-1 despite missing four of the Panthers top five point scorers. Dan Zawacki played a part in all three Davenport scores picking up a goal and two assists. Dustin Wischmeyer and Alex Ostrowski also scored for the Panthers. Matt Kaludis improved to 6-0 by allowing just one goal on 33 shots. – Friday, Dec. 7 – Making the trip to St. Charles, Mo. to take on #9 Lindenwood, the Panthers continued there strong effort defensively. The Panthers came out a little slow but got a goal by Tyler Quigley late in the first period to take a 1-0 lead. The score would remain 1-0 until late in the third when Dan Zawacki and Dustin Wischmeyer each connected on goals to put the Panthers up 3-0.Lindenwood spoiled Phil Graveline shutout by scoring with 18 seconds left. Graveline stopped 34 of the 35 Lion shots – Saturday, Dec. 8 – Trying to sweep Lindenwood, the Panthers once again came out a little slow and Lindenwood took advantage. The Lions  jumped out to a 4-0 lead before Cody Walsh put the Panthers on the board late in the second period. The teams exchanged goals the rest of the way with Winston Hofer scoring for the Panthers. Davenport dropped the game 6-2 with Lindenwood's final goal coming on an empty Panthers net.
 
MUCH NEEDED REST: Davenport wraps up the 2012 portion of their schedule with a tough match-up against cross-town rival and one of the best D2 teams in GVSU. Following this weekend, Davenport will have a couple weeks off for Winter break before returning to take on Western Michigan at home on January 6^th. The break will be a welcomed one for many Panthers as they try to get back to full-strength.
 
SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE: GVSU comes into this weekend on a nine-game winning streak that dates back to Nov. 16^th. During this streak the Lakers have defeated ACHA D1 opponents Western Michigan twice and Eastern Michigan once. The Lakers will be led by Matt Smart, Jeremy Christopher, and the Wilhelm brothers, Brad and Chad. The Wilhelm brothers are tied for the team lead in goals with 12 apiece. Brad is second on the team in points with 26 (12g, 14a). Chad is tied with Jeremy Christopher (11g, 11a) with 22 points. Matt Smart leads the team in both assists and points with 19 and 27 respectively. Scott Tiefenthal will likely get the start in goal for the Panthers. Tiefenthal has a 9-1-1 record in 12 games played. He has a 2.24 GAA and a 0.91 save percentage. He has allowed 27 goals on 297 shots faced.
 
RANKINGS UPDATE: Davenport entered the season ranked 12th in the ACHA D1 Preseason rankings and after dropping one spot in the third rankings the Panthers have climbed their way in to the top-10 coming in at 7th this past weeks.
 
Week-by-week rankings for the Panthers this season:
 
2012-13 Davenport National Rankings
Ranking               Date           ACHA D1 Rankings
Preseason           09/21                     12th
Ranking #1          09/28                     12th
Ranking #2          10/05                     12th
Ranking #3          10/12                     13th
Ranking #4          10/19                     13th
Ranking #5          10/26                     11th
Ranking #6          11/02                      9th
Ranking #7          11/09                      9th
Ranking #8          11/16                      8th
Ranking #9          11/23                      7th
Ranking #10        12/07                      7th
Ranking #11        12/14                      7th
 
 

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