Davenport Athletic Network

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After a tough weekend split capped off by a dominating 10-0 win over Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday, the D1 hockey team will finish the fall semester against local rival Grand Valley State. The Panthers will look to finish the semester on a high note as they look to sweep the Lakers heading in to the semester break. The Panthers hit double-digit mark for goals scored in a game for the first last weekend against Michigan-Dearborn. Head coach Phil Sweeney will look for his team to continue the offensive output this weekend. The Panthers will head to Hudsonville, Mich. on Friday for a 9 p.m. game before they host the Lakers on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.    
 
Date:  December 13, 2013 (Game 1)/December 14, 2014 (Game 2)  
Location: Hudsonville, Mich. (Game 1)/Patterson Ice Center (Game 2)
Broadcast Coverage: Davenport Athletic Network (Game 2 only)
Broadcast Talent: Thomas Biondo
Twitter: @DU_D1Hockey | @DUAthletics
 
SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE:
 
The Lakers are 11-6-1-0 on the season and are led by Brad Wilhelm with 23 points and 16 goals. Matt Smart and JD Duckworth lead the team in assists with 15 each. Grand Valley also has two former Davenport D1 hockey players on the roster in Alex Ostrowski and Michael Bishop. Bishop has nine points with two assists and seven goals, while Ostrowski has 11 points with four goals and seven assists.
 
In the net, the Lakers have had three players make an appearance, but Scott Tiefenthal has been main stalwart in the net posting a 5-4-1 record with a 2.65 goals against average with two shutouts and a .88 save percentage. Ryan Morey and Dominic Juncaj have a combined 3-2 record in their appearances.
 
LAST MEETING:
 
The last time the Panthers and Lakers met was in last season's fall semester finale at Patterson Ice Center. Both teams battled back and forth in a hard fought battle as the Panthers held on to win 6-5. Davenport started the scoring in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the intermission, but Grand Valley bounced back in the second period scoring four goals to take a 4-2 lead after two periods.
 
The third period set up to be a wild one as DU rattled off three goals to take a 5-4 lead but the Lakers scored with 49 seconds left in the game to tie the game up. Kevin Noble was the hero in the game as scored with nine seconds left to clinch the thrilling victory over local rival Grand Valley State.
 
WEEKEND RECAP:
 
Davenport had a tough weekend split with Michigan-Dearborn as they lost the first game in Dearborn, Mich. 4-3. The Panthers played a tough game, but they just could not get a bounce as they continued ring the puck of the post. The Panthers last ditch effort in the final seconds just missed as Andrew Frank batted the puck out of the air a hit the outside of the post.
 
In game two, DU came out and made a statement early and often scoring five goals in the first period and finished the game scoring ten goals and Matt Kaludis was able to keep the puck out of the net for his second shutout of the season. The line of Josh Munford, Chris Ballatore and Dustin Wischmeyer were on fire in the game as they were on the ice for four of the first five goals of the game. The special teams were also outstanding in the game as the penalty kill was a perfect five-for-five and power play was three-for-five in the game.
 
THE PANTHERS:
 
The Panthers have had an up and down season with some big wins and tough losses, but Davenport rebounded well over the past weekend to salvage a weekend split. Leading the way for the Panthers in the scoring department is Robert Kleiman with 28 points and 21 assists. Phil Wendecker leads the team in goals with 11, and Andrew Frank is third on the team in points with 19 and second in assists with 12. Mason Bohlinger and Luke McCarthy are second on the team in goals with nine apiece.
 
In net, Graveline has a 7-6 record with .918 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average also with one shut out on the season. Matt Kaludis picked up his second shutout of the season last Saturday and is now 5-2 on the year with a .93 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average.     
 
GLCHL OUTLOOK:
 
Adrian College is still in the conference lead with 42 points, followed by Oakland with 33 points. The Panthers sit at third place in the conference with 27 points, and Eastern Michigan is in fourth with 17 points. The bottom three teams remain the same with Western Michigan in fifth place with 13, Michigan-Dearborn in sixth with 12, and Kent State still in seventh place with nine points.
 
ACHA RANKINGS:
Preseason Ranking (9/20)      10th
Week 1 (9/27)                            11th
Week 2 (10/4)                            12th
Week 3 (10/11)                           12th
Week 4 (10/18)                           12th
Week 5 (10/24)                           14th
Week 6 (10/29)                           14th
Week 7 (11/5)                            15th
Week 8 (11/13)                           15th
Week 9 (11/20)                           18th
Week 10 (11/27)                         16th
Week 11 (12/5)                           12th
Week 12 (12/11)                         13th
           
 
DI Ice Hockey Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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