Written by Tyler Kuehl
 
ADRIAN, Mich. – On Thursday night, the D2 Hockey team traveled over to the eastside of the state for a rare matchup with an ACHA D1 opponent. It certainly was not an easy matchup, though, as they went up against Adrian College, the no. 2 team D1.
 
While the Panthers were able to get on the board, the Bulldogs, who defeated the D1 Panthers earlier this season, showed why they are one of the best teams in the ACHA.
 
QUICK STATS
 
Final Score: Davenport 1 – Adrian (D1) 8
Shots: DU 58 | AC 12
Power Play: DU (0/2)  AC (0/1)
Records: DU (3-1-1) | AC (15-1)
 
The Bulldogs were all over the Panthers from the get-go. However, throughout the majority of the first period, Drake Deering did all he could to keep the puck out of the back of his net. However, Adrian finally broke through as Chris Donaldson tapped in his 10^th of the season. Despite getting outshot 19-4 in the opening period, DU only trailed by one after 20 minutes.
 
In the middle stanza, the Bulldogs started to open it up. Just 20 seconds into the period, Daniel Stone scored his fifth of the season to put Adrian up by two. Shortly thereafter, Nash Hatcher added a shorthanded goal to make it 3-0, with Dylan Kent scoring his first of the season with a little over seven minutes remaining in the period to make it a four-goal game.
 
Davenport would get on the board later on in the period, as Alexander Brown scored his third of the season, but the Panthers still trailed 4-1 heading into the third period.
 
In the final period of regulation, Nolan Baldrica scored a natural hat trick, the first three goals of his college hockey career. Donaldson capped the night off with his second of the game, and Adrian skated away with the 8-1 win.
 
WHO'S NEXT?
 
The Panthers have a quick turnaround, as they begin a two-game set with Bowling Green State. The Falcons come into the weekend with a 2-5 record, and are coming off a loss against a D1 team themselves, as they lost to Concordia Ann-Arbor on Wednesday night.
 
The Panthers have not played Bowling Green since the 2014-15 season, but the Panthers hold a 9-0 record all-time against the Falcons. Chris Green's old D3 teams used to play Bowling Green in previous years, with the D2 Head Coach holding a 5-1 record against BGSU.
 
Game one will be down in Findlay, Ohio at The Cube Ice Arena. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m.