The Calvin University Knights ACHA D1 Hockey Team were defeated by the Davenport University Panthers 5-4 on Friday night.
Going into Friday's game the Knights looked to build on their last win and continue to build on there mid-season success. Unfortunately, for the Knights the Panthers had other plans.
In the first period the Knights came out strong and quickly put intense pressure on the Panthers defense. About halfway through the frame the Knights found the breakthrough on the powerplay with a goal from Graham Kormash with the assists from Maverick Baxtrom and Kyle VanDusen. Five minutes later the Knights extended their lead with a goal from Jacob Siebenga. The Panthers pushed back hard for the rest of the period, but the Knights defense held firm and kept the Panthers off the board.
At the end of the first period the Knights led the Panthers 2-0. The Knights outshot the Panthers 13-12.
In the second period the Panthers began to shift the momentum of the game. Within three minutes the Panthers broke through the Knights defense and found the back of the net to bring the Knights lead down to one. About six minutes later the Panthers found the back of the net again to tie the game at 2-2. Three minutes later the Panthers took their first lead of the contest and left the Knights stranded and stunned.
At the end of the second period the Knights found themselves trailing the Panthers 3-2. The Knights outshot the Panthers 14-12.
In the third period the Panthers picked up where they left off and within the first minute they extended their lead to two goals. Around the twelve minute mark the Knights cut the lead down to one with a powerplay goal from Jared Virtanen with the assists from VanDusen and Baxtrom. Unfortunately, for the Knights the Panthers quickly returned to a two goal lead just two minutes later. The Knights fought back hard for the rest of the period and finally found another goal with about thirty seconds left in the frame. The goal came from Josh Hartlein with the helper from Virtanen. Sadly, for the Knights it was too little too late.
At the end of the third period the Panthers came out on top over the Knights 5-4. The Knights outshot the Panthers 12-6.
Knights Goaltender Darin Fox finished with 25 saves on the night.
The Knights are back in action Wednesday, March 10th as they travel to take on the Warriors of Indiana Tech University at 7:00PM.
