GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Davenport men's ACHA D1 hockey team continue to look for answers against their rival Grand Valley State after the Lakers took two games over the weekend by scores of 6-3 and 2-1.

Davenport jumped out to a lead and carried momentum through the first half of the game, but Grand Valley State used a four-goal third period to pull away for a 6–3 win on Friday night at Griff's Georgetown.

The Lakers struck first midway through the opening period when Ethan Hellman found the back of the net at 12:31, but the Panthers responded late to even the score. Just before intermission, Jake Alton buried his fifth goal of the season at 19:56, finishing a setup from Dylan Jouppi and Matthew Carlson to send the game into the first break tied 1–1.

Davenport took control in the second period with a pair of goals. Peter Stojcevski gave the Panthers their first lead at 5:47, finishing a feed from Alton and Ryder McMillen, and Luke Mikkola extended the advantage on the power play at 11:42 with his third goal of the season off assists from Bryan Fenlon and Brendan Bauer. Grand Valley State answered late in the period to cut the deficit to 3–2 heading into the third.

The third period proved decisive as the Lakers scored four times, including two empty-net goals in the final two minutes. Ethan Hellman and Kamryn Hellman each scored twice for the Lakers. Kamryn's goal at 1:46 of the third period got GVSU back even. Clayton Senti had the game-winning goal at 10:09 for his second of the season. Brandon Vernarsky and Ethan Hellman scored the empty-net tallies at 18:57 and 19:54.

Davenport outshot Grand Valley State 43–31 and converted once on five power-play opportunities. Kyler Lowden made 25 saves in goal for the Panthers, while Ryan Harris stopped 40 shots for the Lakers.

Saturday night's contest was a defensive battle as DU struck first, but GVSU scored twice in the third period to edge the Panthers, 2–1, at Patterson Ice Center.

McMillen opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 5:56 of the first period off assists from Fenlon and Stojcevski, giving Davenport a 1–0 lead. The game remained scoreless through the second period, before the Lakers netted two goals in a 52-second span midway through the third to take the lead. Brady Balagna scored his first goal of the season from Brendan Walk to tie the game and then Vernarsky scored unassisted at 11:55 for the winner. 

Davenport finished 1-for-4 on the power play as the Panthers were unable to find the equalizer late. The Lakers took a penalty at 16:05 of the third period, but DU could not convert on the power play. Looking ahead, the Panthers will now focus their attention on the University of Illinois. The Panthers and Illini played twice already this season with DU winning in overtime and falling in a shootout. Both games will start at 8:00 pm in Champaign at the UIUC Ice Arena on Friday, Jan. 23 and Saturday, Jan. 24.