SAGINAW, Mich. - The Davenport ACHA Division I men's hockey team took care of business over the last couple of days with two wins against Saginaw Valley State on the road. The Cardinals were playing their first two games as a ACHA DI member moving from the ACHA DIII ranks. DU used their experience and drive to make sure the Cardinals knew that the jump up wouldn't be easy.

The Panthers opened the season with a 7-1 win on Thursday night at the Saginaw Bay Ice Arena. Kieran Thiessan scored the first goal of the season for DU, which found themselves tied at 1-1 through 20 minutes. Heath Drye scored the only goal of the second period for a 2-1 lead. The third period was on onslaught as the Panthers scored five times to put it away. Noah Bradburn, Trent Benedict, Dylan Jouppi, Liam Bland, and Luke Mikkola lit the lamp in the final 20 minutes. It was the first goal in the careers of Bland and Mikkola for the Panthers.

Peter Stojcevski assisted on the first two goals of the contest. Mikkola had a pair of assists for a three-point evening in his debut. Ryder McMillan also finished with two assists.

The second game proved to be even more dominant with a 9-0 win on Saturday night. Branwen Pollett scored the night's first goal. The balanced scoring continued in this one. Ryan Blackburn, Tyler Kaminski, Benedict, Justin Turner, Robert McLaughlin, Brendan Bauer and Mikkola all hit the back of the net. Blackburn was the only Panther with two goals on the night. Kyler Lowden was in net for DU and was credited with the shutout.