GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers came into Saturday's contest looking to win their fourth straight game for the second time this season. Their opponent was the Golden Gophers of Minnesota, a team that had just beaten Central Michigan the night before in Mount Pleasant. These two teams with contrasting styles clashed in an exciting matchup at the DU Turf Field.
 
#14 Davenport vs. Minnesota (Saturday, March 31)
Final Score: DU – 11 l Minnesota – 12 (OT)
Records: DU (8-2, 1-2) l Minnesota (5-6, 2-2)
 
In a game between the high-powered offense of Davenport and the tough defense and Minnesota, something had to give.
 
The scoring didn't start until halfway through the first quarter, when Avery Buckius scored his third of the season. Just over a minute later, Jarred Riley put in his 23rd of the season to put the Panthers up by a pair. Dylan Riley then tacked on another one to extend Davenport's lead to three.
 
Minnesota started to claw their way back into the game after Josh Werkmeister put the Gophers on the board late in the first quarter. Neither team would score for the majority of the second quarter until Trenton Woodcock put the Gophers within one. Shortly after Minnesota won the ensuing face-off, leading scorer Amar Batra tied the game at three. Blake McDonald came back with a goal for DU a couple of minutes later after a turnover caused by Brian Feiler to give the Panthers their second lead of the game. With just over a minute left in the half, Woodcock would tie the game for Minnesota with his second of the game. The two teams headed into the half tied at 4.
 
Panther goaltender Jack Huffman was outstanding in the first half. The junior from East Grand Rapids made huge saves, including a huge stop in the first quarter while Minnesota was a man up.
 
One of the other stories from the first half was the loss of Jarred Riley. The Davenport attacker went down with an apparent upper-body injury halfway through the second quarter.
 
Minnesota continued to thrive off their momentum from the first half into the second as Batra scored his second to give the Gophers their first lead of the game. Less than a minute later, Josh Jubenville took the ball, was knocked by a couple of Minnesota defenders, but maintained possession. As he was getting up he was able slip his way through three Gophers and fire a shot past goaltender Aaron Peterson for an outstanding goal. The scoring continued for Davenport in the third as Jarred Coleman scored his first of the season with Davenport a man up. Max Bush and Dylan Riley would add goals for the Panthers, as they headed into the final quarter up 8-5.

The Gophers would cut into the Davenport lead just over a minute into the fourth quarter with Werkmeister's second of the game. Dylan Riley would then score a highlight reel goal of his own, as he cut to the front of the Minnesota net and dove across the crease to sneak one into the Gopher goal. After Woodcock scored his third to make it a two-goal game once again, Dylan Riley and Jubenville hooked up for a pretty goal, as Riley threw a pass behind his head, and Jubenville fired a bad angle shot past Peterson to give the Panthers a 10-7 lead. The lead wouldn't last long, as Minnesota scored three unanswered goals to tie the game with under five minutes left in regulation. With under two minutes left, Feiler caused another turnover at midfield and after a pass from McDonald, Bryan Larocque netted his 36th of the season to give the Panthers the lead. However, the Gophers refused to quit. Werkmeister was left with enough room to snap off a shot that beat Huffman to tie the game, and the two teams would head into overtime.
 
Head Coach Chris Esquivel was impressed by the Minnesota goaltender, "Their goalie was on, I thought he came up with really big saves."
 
The first overtime featured chances from both teams as both Peterson and Huffman made big saves for their respective clubs. Larocque had a couple of chances point blank in front of the Minnesota net, but great defense by Minnesota thwarted any opportunity for the Windsor, Ontario native.
 
The second overtime didn't last long as after a Davenport turnover, Werkmeister blew by Jake Wilson and fired a shot that beat Huffman to give the Gophers the come-from-behind win.
 
UP NEXT
 
Davenport takes a week off before taking on Purdue University at home next Saturday. The Boilermakers play Friday night against Oakland before traveling back west to Grand Rapids to take on the Panthers. Esquivel knows it's the little things the Panthers will have to work on this week in practice, "We just need to be a little more consistent."
 
Saturday's game will be at the DU Turf Field at 2 p.m.

Story Credit: Tyler Kuehl