Written by Tyler Kuehl

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – D2 hockey returned home to Patterson Saturday afternoon for the second half of their weekend set with rival Grand Valley State. DU took the first game on the weekend, on the road, 3-2, and looked to make it five straight against their crosstown foes.
 
The Panthers came out flying in the first period with three goals, including shorthanded and power play goals from captain Trevor Murray, and a buzzer-beater from Cole Uzzell. Grand Valley tried to come back in the third, but DU held on for their sixth straight win.
 
QUICK STATS
 
Final Score: Davenport 5– Grand Valley State 3
Shots: DU 47| GVSU 22
Power Play: DU (1/9) | GVSU (2/6)
Records: DU (7-2) | GVSU (3-5)
 
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
 
Along with Murray's two goals, Evan Carroll and Uzzell each had a goal and two assists for the Panthers. Robert Pegrum picked up his fourth win of the season, stopping 19 of 22 shots.
 
SHORTHANDED DANGLES
 
Each team had a couple of close calls early in the contest, with the Lakers temporarily outshooting the Panthers through the halfway mark of the first period. While Grand Valley was on the power play, the puck was cleared into the Lakers' zone. Carroll turned the puck over, and pushed it ahead for a streaking Murray. Murray made his way through the Laker defense, and undressed goaltender David Johansson with a one-handed beauty of a goal to put the Panthers in the lead.
 
QUICK REPSONSE
 
The power play would continue for the Lakers after the DU goal. A point shot from Andrew Dundas was mishandled by Pegrum, and Anders Staky would tap home his second goal of the weekend to tie the game at one.
 
DÉJÀ VU
 
Davenport would get a power play late in the period. With just over 30 seconds to go, Murray won a faceoff back to Kyle Mazur. Mazur then moved it over to Carroll, who then quickly fed Murray a pass to the slot, and the DU captain one-timed home his second of the game to put the Panthers back out in front.
 
WILD SCRAMBLE
 
After the goal, Davenport went right back on the attack in the dying seconds. After three of four good chances in the last 10 seconds, Cole Uzzell fired a shot that somehow found its way to the back of the net with only .1 seconds remaining to send the Panthers into the break with a 3-1 lead.
 
CONTROLLING THE GAME
 
In period two, the Panthers dominated the play. They outshot the Lakers 14-4 in the second period. This led to goal from Carroll, after he tipped in a Uzzell point shot, and DU led by three heading into the third period.
 
ANCHORING INTO THE GAME
 
The Lakers came out with a little more pep in their step in the third period. First, Gage Thrall made a nice move around Pegrum to cut into the Panther lead, just over six minutes in. 1:20 later, while on the power play, Derek Becker tipped in a point shot to bring the Lakers back within one.
 
SEALING THE DEAL
 
It was crunch time for the Panthers. With all the momentum on the visitor's side, they needed to take back control of the game. They were able to do so with a couple of good shifts, leading to a Brody White shot being tipped in by Spencer Sandberg for his fourth goal of the season.
 
The Lakers took five penalties in the third, which gave them no chance to get back into the game, and the Panthers would complete the weekend sweep with the 5-3 lead.
 
WHO'S NEXT?
 
The Panthers travel up to Minnesota for the WCCHA Showcase up at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine. Davenport's first opponent of the weekend will be North Dakota State. DU has only played the Bison once in their history, coming out with a win in their meeting back in 2014. Puck drop is set for 8:45 p.m. CST.