From Davenport University Athletics
By Ryan Thompson
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Davenport University men’s ACHA Division I hockey program gets their 2024-25 season underway on Thursday, Sept. 12 with the beginning of a two-game road series at Saginaw Valley State. The Cardinals are newcomers to ACHA D1 after being members of ACHA D3, which is a big step up in competition. Saginaw Valley State were in the MCHC East and posted a record of 18 wins, nine losses, three OT losses, and two ties a year ago. They finished third in the division behind Oakland and Lawrence Tech with 57 points. The teams will skate at 9:30 PM inside the Saginaw Bay Ice Arena on Thursday and again on Saturday at 9:00 PM.
The team is excited to be joining a new conference in 2024-25 called the Great Lakes 6. The Panthers will be joined by Grand Valley State, Calvin, Roosevelt, Adrian, and Purdue Northwest. In the ACHA Division I preseason national poll, four of these six teams were ranked in the top 25 and Adrian won the national championship in 2023-24. Davenport finished fourth out of 10 schools in the GLCHL last season with 59 points. They had a 20-14 record in the first year back for head coach Phil Sweeney after a two-year hiatus behind the bench. Sweeney is entering his 12th season overall for the Panthers and is hoping to guide the team back to the national tournament for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign.
This year’s squad has the experience and talent to end that drought. The top seven point leaders from last season are back led by Brendan Bauer’s 42 points. He scored 16 goals to rank second on the team and led the team with 26 assists. Kristers Klavins finished last season with 29 points and led the team with four game-winning goals. Heath Drye had an impressive rookie season with the Panthers in 2023-24 with 11 goals and 10 assists in 29 games. Robert McLaughlin was one of five players to play in all 34 games last season and was third on the team with 28 points. He also led the team with 17 goals, including eight on the power play. Peter Stojcevski and Ryan Blackburn each eclipsed the 20-point barrier last season. Stojcevski tallied 11 goals and 16 assists, while Blackburn collected three goals and 17 helpers.
The defensive core also returns consisting of Branwen Pollett, Taber Gutschick, Dylan Jouppi, and Austin Melone. The goaltending for the Panthers also has a solid duo returning in Nathan Gauthier and Kyler Lowden. Gauthier is the seasoned veteran with three years under his belt for a total of 59 games. He has 26 wins in net and a 4.55 goals-against average in his career. Lowden was eased into the rotation early in the season as a first-year player, but by the end of the season in January and February saw a majority of the ice time in goal. He won eight times and posted a 3.34 goals-against average and .900 save percentage.
(Originally published at https://dupanthers.com/news/2024/9/12/mens-ice-hockey-di-acha-mens-d1-hockey-season-outlook.aspx)
