GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - It was a clean sweep over the weekend for the Davenport ACHA men's Division I hockey team against Western Michigan to improve the team's overall record to 7-2. The Panthers are off to one of their best starts in recent years and defeated the Stallions 8-0 on Friday at Patterson Ice Center before traveling to Lawson Ice Arena in Kalamazoo on Saturday for a 3-2 victory.

Friday night's contest was an all-around masterclass by the Panthers in their biggest goal deferential of the season to date.  The second period saw Davenport break things wide open with five goals. DU finished with 48 shots on goal compared to 20 for the Stallions.

Kyler Lowden got his first shutout of the season between the pipes with 20 saves. The Stallions started with Elliott Hartwick in goal, but he was pulled after allowing five goals for Gage Cercone. Cercone ended the game with 18 saves in relief.

Jack Kelly had a four-point night with two goals and two assists. Sammy Mielock added two goals to increase his season total to nine. He scored at 10:57 of the second period and again at 18:20 of the third period. Matt Carlson led the team with three assists. Jake Alton also finished with a goal and two assists. Liam Bland had the team's lone power play goal coming at 8:12 of the second period. DU was 1-for-2 on the power play.

The Saturday affair was a much different story as the Stallions put up a good fight before falling 3-2. After a scoreless opening period, Western Michigan took a 1-0 lead at 1:29 as Tyler Fortson scored his sixth goal of the season. Luke Mikkola answered at 4:19 with his first tally in 2026-27 on the power play. Alton made it 2-1 with his own power play goal at 7:03 from Dylan Jouppi and Bland.

Alton struck again on the power play at 9:08 of the third period as DU went 3-for-7 on the man advantage. Bland and Jouppi also had the assists on the winning goal. Carter Jamieson scored his fourth of the season at 13:20, but DU held off the Stallions for the one-goal margin. Paul Jarvis stopped 24-of-26 shots on the day to get the win. He is now 3-0 in net this season with a 2.92 goals-against average.

The Panthers will start GL6 play this upcoming weekend against Hope College beginning on Friday, Oct. 16 in Holland at 7:30 PM.