National Tournament Homepage | Interview with Coach Sweeney

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – After finishing the regular season with a 23-10-0-3 record and runner-up in the GLCHL Tournament following a loss to No. 6 Adrian, the Panthers will open up the ACHA Division I National Tournament in Newark, Del., on March 8, when they face No. 5 Stony Brook in the round of 16. Davenport will be making its fourth consecutive appearance in the Division 1 national tournament. DU has compiled a 5-2 record at nationals which includes going 4-0 in 2011 to win it all. The Panthers and Seawolves will start the action on Saturday with a 10 a.m. puck drop.
 
Date:  March 8, 2014  
Location: Rust Ice Arena (Newark, Del.)
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Twitter: @DU_D1Hockey | @DUAthletics
 
SCOUTING STONY BROOK:
 
The Seawolves compiled a 26-4-0-3 record on their way to winning the ESCHL regular season title and tournament championship. Stony Brook comes into the contest ranked fifth overall in the country. Leading the way offensively for the team has been Ryan Cotcamp with 60 points and 33 goals. Cotcamp was also selected to Team USA for the World University Games earlier this season. Joining Cotcamp on Team USA was defensive stalwart Chris Joseph who has anchored down the back end for the Seawolves and also chipped in with 27 points. Leading the team in the assist department has been Dan Cassano with 37. Cassano has also tallied 16 goals on the season.
 
In goal, head coach Chris Garofalo has stayed steady with sophomore Brendan Jones. Jones has appeared in 20 games compiling 14-5 record on the season to go along with a 2.93 goals against average and a .90 save percentage. 
 
COMMON OPPONENTS:
 
The Seawolves and Panthers have never faced off against one another before, but this season both teams have faced off against four different common opponents. The four teams that both teams have faced are: No. 8 Delaware, No. 3 Robert Morris, No. 4 Liberty and Colorado State. Against the four opponents Stony Brook has a 7-2 record, while DU has a 4-3 record against those teams. Of the national tournament teams (Delaware, Liberty and Robert Morris) Stony Brook has a 6-2 record and Davenport has a 3-3 record.
 
WEEKEND RECAP:
 
The last time the Panthers were in action, Davenport competed in the GLCHL Tournament in Rochester, Mich. DU started the weekend off with a win against Kent State. The Panthers beat the Golden Flashes 5-2 to advance to the semifinals against No. 14 Oakland. DU went 0-4 against Oakland during the regular season, and the Panthers looked to capture their first win against their rival in the conference tournament. The Panthers dominated the Grizzlies in the games winning 5-1. DU controlled the pace of the game throughout and did not let Oakland play their style of game to advance to the conference championship game and beat Oakland for the first time this season.
 
In the championship game, Davenport looked to defend their tournament championship when they faced No. 6 Adrian. Both teams battled hard in the opening period as it was still scoreless after the first period. The Bulldogs finally found a hole in the DU defense to score the first goal of the game. In the final seconds of the second period, Adrian added another goal to take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission. The Bulldogs took the momentum into the third period and scored two more goals to take a 4-0 lead. The Panthers scored with less than a minute remaining in regulation to spoil the shutout, but Adrian was able to capture the GLCHL tournament championship.
 
THE PANTHERS:
 
After tallying eight points at the conference tournament, Robert Kleiman now leads the team in scoring and assists with 44 and 27, respectively. Andrew Frank is right behind Kleiman with 42 points and 26 assists on the season. Mason Bohlinger is leading the team with 22 goals on the season, and is third on the team in points with 40. Captain Phil Wendecker, who has gone back and forth between forward and defense, has led the team a 25-11-0-3 in his final season.
 
On the back end, Bo Jacobs has anchored the blue line for the Panthers while also chipping in with 23 points on the season. Phil Graveline has stood tall for the Panthers in net all season compiling a 16-10 record and 2.70 goals against average to go along with a .914 save percentage. The senior also has two shutouts on the season to cap off his final season of play. 
 
GLCHL OUTLOOK:
 
The GLCHL will have three teams at the in Delaware for the national tournament in No. 6 Adrian, No. 12 Davenport and No. 14 Oakland. The Bulldogs will start their tournament run on Saturday when they face No. 11 Central Oklahoma. The Grizzlies will start on Thursday when they face No. 19 Syracuse and the winner of that match up will face No. 3 Robert Morris on Friday.
 
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
Week 13 (12/17)                                  13th
Week 14 (1/8)                                       13th    
Week 15 (1/15)                                     13th
Week 16 (1/22)                                     12th
Week 17 (1/29)                                     12th
Week 18 (2/5)                                       16th
Week 19 (2/12)                                     12th
Week 20 (2/17)                                     12th      
 
DI Ice Hockey Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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