Box Score CHICAGO, Ill. – After being away from action after for the past three weeks, the Davenport D2 hockey returned to action against Illinois State in the Central Regional Semifinals. After trailing 6-3 entering the third period, Davenport was able to tie the game and send it into over time, where Branden Burton scored the game-winning goal to hand the Panthers a 9-8 win.  Davenport will be back in action on Sunday afternoon at 1:40 p.m. as they face Lindenwood in Chicago, Ill., where the winner will advance to the national tournament.
 
Illinois State got the scoring started in the early going, but the Panthers were able to rebound quickly as they scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead. However the back and forth battle continued in through the first period as the Redbirds scored back-to-back goals to regain their one goal lead, but the Panthers were able to cap of the scoring in the first period to send the game into the first intermission tied at three.
 
The Redbirds controlled the second period, as they were able to outscore the Panthers 3-0 throughout the period to take a 6-3 lead into the third period. The Davenport offense came back to score five times in the third period and tied the game twice to send the game into overtime. In the overtime period, Branden Burton was able to find the back of the net for Davenport to give the Panthers a 9-8 win.
 
Davenport was the only lower seed to win their matchup at the Central Regional as the eighth-seeded Panthers beat the fifth-seeded Redbirds. The third-seed, Lindenwood, beat tenth-seed Northern Michigan, 5-0, while No. 4 Michigan State beat No. 9 Waldorf, 5-1. Sixth-seed Northern Illinois was able to out last seventh-seed Southern Illinois to set the Regional Final matchups. With the teams reseeding after the first set of games, Davenport will face Lindenwood, while Northern Illinois takes on Michigan State.
 
The Panthers will face the Lindenwood Lions at 1:40 p.m. on Sunday in one Regional Final, where the winner will earn a spot in the ACHA D2 National Tournament.
 
D2 Ice Hockey Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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