TOLEDO, Ohio - The Davenport men's ACHA Division 1 hockey team dropped a 7-2 decision at Toledo on Thursday night for their first loss of the season after a weekend sweep of Saginaw Valley State to start the 2024-25 season. The Panthers currently stand at 2-1 overall and will welcome the Rockets to Patterson Ice Center on Sunday at 6:05 PM to conclude the series.

Toledo essentially won the game in the first period going up 4-0 after 20 minutes. They scored on 40 percent of their shots on goal with a total of 10 in the first period. Nick Messier scored twice in the first period for Toledo including a short-handed tally at 17:56 with an assist from Riley Nadeau. The lead grew to 5-0 in the second period as Adam Ferreira scored his first goal of the season for the Rockets with assists from Nadeau and Trevor Stokes. The Panthers played an even game for the remainder of the contest and got on the board at 3:09 of the second period. Trent Benedict scored his third goal of the season on the power play from Heath Drye and Kieran Thiessen.

Onto the third period, where Drye made 5-2 at the 4:46 mark for his second goal of the season with a helper from Noah Bradburn. The Rockets finished the third period scoring as Stokes scored his first of the season at 13:14 on the power play and Anthony Oviedo notched his first goal of the season at 16:36 from Lucas Wynnyk and Tryston Harrell.

Davenport had the edge in shots on goal, 49-32, but Vince Michelizzi played well in net for Toledo with 47 saves on the night. Nathan Gauthier calmed down in the second and third periods to finish with a total of 25 saves for the Panthers. The Panthers will have their home opener on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 3:35 PM against Roosevelt in their first game in the Great Lakes Six Conference.