GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It had been a long while since Davenport men's ACHA Division 1 hockey got a victory over Michigan-Dearborn, but that changed on Wednesday night with a 7-3 triumph over the Wolverines. The Panthers had dropped six straight games dating back to Dec. 15, 2018 versus UM-Dearborn, but put together a complete effort for their 11th win of the season.
The tight contest was broke open in the third period as DU outscored UM-Dearborn 4-1. The Panthers were also able to find success on a power-play unit that did not convert the past weekend. DU finished 2-of-4 on the man advantage and killed off both penalties against them. Davenport held a 36-29 edge in shots on goal.
Jake Alton converted on the team's first power-play opportunity at 4:46 of the opening period from
Ryder McMillen and
Peter Stojcevski. Stojcevski made it 2-0 at 11:42 from McMillen as the duo got off to a hot start. Connor Hasse trimmed the deficit to 2-1 at 15:13 and that's how the scoring ended in the first period.
Liam Bland made it 2-of-2 on the power play at 14:00 of the second stanza from
Taber Gutschick for his fifth goal of the season. Carter Allen answered back for the Wolverines at 15:40 to make it 3-2 after 40 minutes. The third period was all DU as team-leading scorer
Brendan Bauer notched his 11th goal of the season at 3:58 from Alton and
Noah Bradburn.
Robert McLaughlin got into the scoring action at 5:47 for his second of the season from
Simon Davidson and Stojcevski.
Dylan Jouppi put the game away with a short-handed goal at 9:52 from
Ryan Blackburn for a 6-2 advantage. Bailey Byrd scored the final UM-Dearborn goal at 17:10 from Allen. Stojcevski made it a four-point night, his second of the season, with his first multi-goal game of the year at 18:39 from McMillen and Bland.
Kyler Lowden was steady between the pipes for Davenport with 26 saves. McMillen established a new career high with his three assists.
The guys will skate one more weekend before holiday break as they host No. 22 Cleary University (14-2) on Friday, Dec. 12 at 8:35 PM and then hit the road on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the 140 Ice Den in Howell for a 7:00 pm puck drop. The Panthers are 3-1 all-time against Cleary.
