Written by Tyler Kuehl
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – After an 11-day layoff over the Thanksgiving Break, the D1 hockey team traveled a little south to take on Great Lakes Collegiate Hockey League (GLCHL) opponent Western Michigan. Davenport was riding high on a three-game win streak, while the Stallions were looking to bounce back after dropping two games before the break to Arizona.
Davenport came out flying, but the Stallions took advantage of their chances in the first period. Even though DU trailed heading into period two, they would bounce back in a big way, scoring four unanswered goals to take the lead. The Stallions tried to the game in the third, but the Panthers held on to pick up their fourth consecutive win.
QUICK STATS
Final Score: Davenport 4 = Western Michigan 3
Shots: DU 40 | WMU 24
Power Play: DU (1/3) | WMU (1/2)
Records: #13 DU (9-5, 4-1) | WMU (7-8, 3-3)
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
Adam Goudelock led the Panthers with a goal and two assists, while
Austin Thompson scored a goal and an assist.
Jason Rhynold made 20 saves to pick up his seventh win of the season.
NOBLE STEEDS
The first period started with back-and-forth action, but DU started to settle in the Western Michigan zone. They would get a power play opportunity around the halfway mark of the period, but were unable to capitalize. Shortly after the Stallions' penalty expired, Wyatt Ford picked off a
Jake Pobur pass, and set Kyle Berry on a breakaway. Berry would make no mistake, beating Rhynold for his second goal of the season, putting Western Michigan out in front.
With 100 seconds left in the period, Joey Zappa fed a pass into open space, and Corey Siwula one-timed a shot that Rhynold got a piece of, but not all of it as the puck barely crossed the line to send the Stallions into the intermission with a 2-0 lead.
A MUCH NEEDED RESPONSE
Frustratingly down after the first period, Davenport knew they had to come out with a better second.
They did just that.
Just passed the eight-minute mark,
Brad Reitter fed a pass in the slot to
Joey Ogden, who delayed enough for Hufford to get out of position, and put a backhander passed the Stallion netminder to put DU on the board.
With a little over five minutes left in the frame, Davenport would get another great chance after
Walker Aurand blocked a shot, and in one motion threw a pass up to
Austin Thompson, sending him on a breakaway. Thompson went top-shelf for his third goal of the season to tie the game at two.
A little over two minutes later, Thompson, while getting knocked down, passed the puck up to Goudelock who was standing near the blue line. Goudelock then took a soft wrist shot that somehow found its way through traffic and Hufford for his 10
th goal of the season, giving the Panthers the 3-2 lead.
56 seconds later,
Chris Corgan drove the puck into Western zone with
Jason Cohan. Corgan cut to the middle and fired a shot back to the stick side of Hufford. It looked like it was going wide, but it hit the chest of Cohan and fell into the back of the net. Cohan's sixth goal of the season was DU's third goal in just over a three-minute span, and would take the two-goal lead into the break.
GETTING THE JOB DONE
DU was looking to close to the deal in the third period, but the Stallions pushed back, looking to get back into the game. Corgan received a five-minute major penalty for running into Hufford, and the Stallions would convert. Ford scored to bring the DU lead to one after his pass bounced off of the foot of Aurand and in.
Western Michigan came close to tying the game late, but the Panthers held on for the 4-3 win.
WHO'S NEXT?
DU will wrap up the extended home-and-home with the Stallions on Saturday the 7th. Puck drop at Patterson is set for 3:35 p.m.
