COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Panthers gave the fans at the ACHA National Championship a show for the ages, winning their first round matchup against Buffalo in lopsided fashion. Davenport scored eight goals compared to the Bulls one. The offense was constantly on the attacking end of the ice for the Panthers and on the flip side, Tanner Swift perfectly reacted to almost every shot that Buffalo sent at him. This is the fourth straight season that the Panthers have advanced to the quarterfinals in the National Tournament.
 
Thursday, March 8 (ACHA First Round)
Final Score: Davenport 8, Buffalo 1
Location: Columbus, Ohio

GOALS PER PERIOD
1^st Period: DU-3 | UB-0
2^nd Period: DU-3 | UB-1
3^rd Period: DU-2| UB-0
Final: DU-8 | UB-1

HOW IT HAPPENED
-Davenport scored the initial goal of the game, and the whole tournament, just 88 seconds into the game. Luke Cowan found himself in the right spot and knocked in the goal, assisted by Joey Ogden. The Panthers showed literally no nerves in the first period, scoring another two unanswered goals to lead by three goals. Sherman Mowery scored his first of the game 12:38 into the period, assisted by Sam Basich. The next goal was an absolute rocket by Mike Gessler, who shot from the blue line on the left side of the ice into the left side of the net. Davenport dodged a bullet towards the end of the period when a Bulls player missed a wide-open net on a power play, sending the puck over the goal and into the back netting.
-Mowery strengthened the Panthers lead with a goal towards the midway point of the second period. This was his second goal of the game and was assisted by Brad Reitter. The Bulls scored their first goal of the game 10:24 into the period, bringing DU's lead down to 4-1. Davenport scored two more goals to end the period up 6-1. Mowery earned his hat trick with 2:45 to play in the period.
-Davenport kept it together mentally in the final period. The Bulls were called for a pair of penalties, including a cross-checking minor with just under two minutes to go in the game. On top of holding strong mentally, the Panthers added two more goals over the 20 minutes. The goals were scored by Chris Corgan and Ogden knocked in his second of the game.
-The Panthers outshot the Bulls 35-20.
-Mowery netted a hat trick to lead DU in goals.
-An astounding 11 different players recorded one assist during the game.
-Swift was borderline perfect in the game, stopping 19 of the 20 shots he faced.

COACHES CORNER
"We had a lot of guys play well today," stated Head Coach Phil Sweeney. "As a team we played as a five-man unit and played well in all three zones. When we had a break down, Swift was there to pick us up. We had great scoring balance, as all four lines chipped in with at least one goal. Mowery and Ogden buried their chances on net. That didn't surprise me as they've been working hard in practice. We have a tough opponent tomorrow in Lindenwood. The Lions are very good, it should be a great game. To be the number three team in the country we will have to do a lot of the same things as we did today. I'm proud of these guys for today, but now we will focus on tomorrow."
 
UP NEXT
Davenport advances to the quarterfinals of the National Tournament, where they will face Lindenwood. The Lions held the advantage during the regular season against the Panthers, winning both games in early October.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Tyler Triemstra