CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Davenport men's ACHA D1 hockey earned a 5–3 road victory over the University of Illinois on Friday night at the University of Illinois Ice Arena, building an early lead and holding strong down the stretch. The Panthers struck twice in the opening period with goals from
Ryder McMillen and
Sammy Mielock, including a power-play tally, and added two more in the second as
Peter Stojcevski and Mielock again found the net to push the advantage to 4–1 after two periods.
The Fighting Illini made a push in the third period, scoring twice to cut the deficit to 4–3 and apply late pressure. However, Davenport sealed the win with an empty-net goal from Noah Bradburn in the final minutes to secure the 5–3 decision. Goaltender Kyler Lowden anchored the Panthers' effort with 35 saves on 38 shots, while Davenport finished the night 1-for-2 on the power play and weathered Illinois' late surge to earn the road victory.
DU battled back late, but fell just short in a 5–4 loss to Illinois on Saturday night. The Panthers trailed 1–0 after the opening period and saw the Illini extend the lead early in the second with three goals, including two on the power play, to build a 4–0 advantage. Gregory Etingen assisted on three of those four goals for Illinois. Davenport broke through late in the second period with a power-play goal from Jack Kelly to cut the deficit to 4–1 heading into the final frame.
Illinois added another early goal in the third to make it 5–1, but Davenport responded with a furious rally. The Panthers scored three straight power-play goals in a span of just 41 seconds—two from Brendan Bauer and one from Luke Mikkola—to pull within one goal at 5–4 and put heavy pressure on the Illini late. Despite outshooting Illinois 35–31 and converting 4-of-12 power-play opportunities, Davenport was unable to complete the comeback, as Illinois held on to secure the one-goal victory. Lowden stopped 26 shots on Saturday and did record 12 penalty minutes.
The Panthers (15-15-2-2) are starting to wind down their season with five more regular-season games. Next up, DU will host No. 10 Calvin (11-5-2-0) on Tuesday, Jan. 27 inside Patterson Ice Center at 9:00 PM.
