The men's ACHA Division II hockey team put themselves into a position to fight for a regional postseason berth and squared off with Trine University this weekend. The Thunder entered with a No. 4 ranking in the Central Region and earlier this season picked up a 6-1 win at the Lindenwood Showcase over the Panthers on Jan. 5. Davenport had won four in a row entering the series including three wins at the Miami (Ohio) Showcase last weekend.

The Thunder won both games which were very tough and competitive contests against the Panthers. Trine won 4-1 on Friday night in Grand Rapids and returned home to Angola, Indiana for a 3-2 win on Saturday.

The Thunder scored all four goals in the second period on Friday night and Davenport also scored their lone goal in the middle frame. The Thunder got goals from Justin Palmer, Reese Boehme, Grant Dickinson, and Nathaniel Rider. Trine led 3-0 before Lukas Lyszyk scored his 13th goal of the season at 17:44 for Davenport.

Trine once again on Saturday jumped out to a 3-0 lead with two goals in the first period and another in the second period. Jeffrey Ransom scored on the power play at 7:09 of the first period. Matthew Bradley scored his 15th goal of the season at 13:24 for the 2-0 lead. Dillon Fox notched his 18th goal of the season at 1:16 of the second period short-handed.

Davenport put the clamps down for the rest of the game and got back into it. Niko Reimann's second goal of the season at 7:12 of the second period was assisted by Will Healy. Matic Nastran then scored his 11th of the season at 10:41 short-handed. Davenport managed just six shots on goal however in the third period and could not get the tying goal. Austin Bartell made 38 saves for the Panthers in net.