Box Score Photo Gallery

Site: Grand Rapids, Mich. (Patterson Ice Center)
Score: No. 13 Davenport 4, Kent State 2
Records: DU (14-8-0-1), KSU (6-15-0-0)
Next DU event: Saturday, Jan. 4 – vs. Kent State – 5:30 p.m.
 
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport D1 hockey team looked to start the 2014 portion of their season on a high note in the teams first game back from break against Kent State. The Panthers were able to jump put to 2-0 early in the second on goals by Dustin Wischmeyer and Luke McCarthy, but the Golden Flashes stormed back to tie the game at two after two periods. Davenport came out in the third period a scored two goals in the period to capture their first win of the second half of the season 4-2 over Kent State. The Panthers will be back on the ice Saturday against Kent State to conclude the weekend with a 5:30 p.m. puck drop at Patterson Ice Center.
 
The Panthers looked to shake off the rust from the semester break early in the first period, but the Panthers were plagued by penalties in the early going and were unable to get an offensive momentum. DU had a couple great offensive chances, but could not cash in. However, Dustin Wischmeyer finally broke the ice with 2:15 left in the period to take a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
 
In the second the Panthers kept the offensive pressure going as Luke McCarthy score in the first minute of the period to increase the Panther lead to two. The Golden Flashes came storming back in the second period as they scored two power play goals in a span of five minutes to the game at two. Davenport regained the offensive pressure, but could not score as Zachary Nowak came up huge for Kent State to keep the game tied at two heading into the second intermission.
 
The third period started with more penalties for both sides testing both teams special teams units, and they came up big with some huge saves by both net minders. The Panthers finally broke halfway through the third period as Cody Walsh blasted a shot from the point that was going wide, but Stephen Flood directed the puck into the net to put the Panthers up 3-2.
 
Davenport had to kill of a Kent State power play in the final two minutes, which turned into a 6-on-4 after the Golden Flash goaltender was pulled to get an extra attacker. However, Kent State was called for penalty to make it a 4-on-4 hockey. With 28 seconds left Bo Jacobs scored an empty net goal to ice the game for DU to give them a 4-2 win over Kent State. 
 
After the game head coach Phil Sweeney talked about how his team performed in the first game back from break, "You could tell there was some rust after three weeks off, but I saw a lot of the drive we needed to win. We flipped into a new calendar year with a new attitude and we are going to try and win every single game. You always try to win, but we are going to play a little more determined hockey in the second half."
 
Sweeney also talked about how his two new players, Chris Eckler and Kody Polin, performed in their first game for the team, "The did a really good job, Kody and Chris had really nice chances in front and to the goalies credit he made some really saves on them. Those two guys are really good if they have those chances they are going to score a lot of goals."
 
The Panthers will take on Kent State again tomorrow to conclude the first weekend series of 2014. The puck drop is at 5:30 p.m. at Patterson Ice Center.
 
Post-Game Notes
 
The Panthers outshot Kent State 56-26 in the game as they move to 14-8-0-1 on the year. Matt Kaludis picks up the win in net after making 24 saves and is now 6-2-0 on the year. Andrew Frank picked up another assist in the game for his 13th and is now second on the team in points with 23. Stephen Flood and Cody Walsh each picked up two points, while Luke McCarthy, Bo Jacobs, Chris Ballatore and Aaron Beally all tallied a point in the game.
 
DI Ice Hockey Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
DU Athletics: Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram
DI Ice Hockey: Twitter | Facebook