Men's Ice Hockey (DI) | 9/19/2026 9:37:00 PM

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - The encore to last night's overtime win over N.C. State was another drama-filled contest on the second day of the ACHA Fall Faceoff. The Panthers got a 6-5 win in a shootout over Lehigh after giving up two goals in the final 1:05 of regulation to force overtime. The five-minute session did not yield a winner and the team's would go to a shootout.

The game featured each team with 36 shots on goal as the Panthers increased their production in each period. Lehigh could not make the most of seven power play chances with just one conversion. Davenport had one power play goal in two tries.

Before the conclusion in narrated, let's go back to the three quality periods of hockey. Both teams scored in the first period on the power play as Dylan Jouppi scored at 10:34 from Tony Kauffman and Liam Bland. Lehigh took the 1-0 lead at 5:45 as Zach Gruber opened the scoring.

Kauffman gave DU a 2-1 advantage in the second period at 7:05 after he cleaned up a loose puck above the crease for his first tally of the season. Just 1:03 later it was Sammy Mielock notching his third goal of the season from Gabe Olenzuk. Olenzuk issued a nice pass just across the blue line and Mielock had the breakaway goal.

Lehigh would score the next two goals to tie it up at 3 early in the third period. Ryan Blackburn made it 4-3 at the 14:13 mark from Ethan Wallace and Zach Schneider. Blackburn scored a great hustle goal on a rebound for his first goal in 2026-27. Jake Alton looked to seal the deal at 18:30 after a turnover by Lehigh and some pinpoint passing inside the offensive zone by Blackburn.

Lehigh pulled their goaltender and got within one 25 seconds after the Alton goal on a shot under the pads of Paul Jarvis off the stick of Morgan Waddell. The Mountain Hawks tied the game with 33 seconds left as Niko Cadoret got the empty-net goal from Devin Gosciak. Cadoret fired a shot from distance through bodies into the top left corner.

Lehigh would have three shots on goal in overtime compared to two for the Panthers. The shootout would go seven skaters deep before it was decided. Gosciak and Cadoret scored for the Mountain Hawks. Sammy Mielock scored on the team's first try and four missed shots went by before Bland scored on the sixth attempt to extend the game after Cadoret's marker. Max Myagkov missed the net for Lehigh and Blackburn wrapped things up with the winning goal to cap off a great finish. 

Jarvis made 31 saves in regulation and overtime compared to 31 saves by Lehigh's Demetri Condolios. The Panthers will look for a perfect weekend when they skate with No. 16 Missouri State on Sunday morning at 10:30 AM.