After a long road trip in the Sooner State, Illinois (17-6-4, 52 pts.) returned home this past weekend to face the Davenport Panthers (15-15-4, 45 pts.). The Illini split the series, dropping the opener 5-3 before responding with a 5-4 win in game two. Illinois survived a late Davenport surge in the closer as the Panthers scored three goals in the third period.

The matchup marked the second meeting between the two teams this season, as they also split their series in October.

Early hole too deep for Illinois

Friday got away from Illinois too early. Junior Ryder McMillen extended his team lead in goals and points by opening the scoring for Davenport. The Panthers eventually added two more — one late in the first period and another within the first two minutes of the second — to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

Illinois responded three minutes later when sophomore Carson Mitchell netted his 16th goal of the season to cut the deficit to 3-1. Davenport freshman Sammy Mielock answered with his second goal of the game — ultimately turning out to be the game winner — to restore a three-goal cushion at 4-1.

Late goals from senior John McLaughlin and graduate student Alexander Matveev gave the Illini a final push, but it was too little too late, as Davenport senior Noah Bradburn sealed the 5-3 win with an empty net goal. 

Early surge carries Illinois

Saturday’s game followed a nearly opposite script from Friday. After a largely quiet first period, junior David Etingen found the back of the net late in the period to give the Illini a 1-0 lead.

Illinois took control in the second, as Mitchell and Matveev each tallied their second goals of the weekend, while junior Arthur Pawlik added another to push the lead to 4-0. Davenport responded late in the period when freshman Jack Kelly scored to cut the deficit to 4-1 heading into the third.

It appeared to be smooth sailing for Illinois when Mavteev buried his second of the night just over a minute into the final period. Out of nowhere, Davenport launched a shocking comeback, scoring three goals within one minute with under five minutes remaining to make it a 5-4 game. Illinois, however, held on down the stretch to secure the win and salvage the split. 

“It was disappointing,” said head coach John Opilka of Saturday’s game. “(We were) up 5-1 and we start taking penalties and gave them ample opportunities to get back in the game. When you do that against a good team like Davenport, they are going to take advantage.”

In net, graduate student Nolan Woodring and sophomore Grady Sulkin wrapped up their weekends with 27 and 31 saves on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Burke’s impact beyond scoresheet

Sophomore defenseman Reilly Burke made a major impact for Illinois this weekend despite not appearing on the scoresheet. The Lehighton, Pennsylvania native logged heavy minutes on the blue line and played a key role in stabilizing Illinois defensively. 

“Reilly Burke has been great all year, but especially this weekend,” Opilka said. “I thought he did a great job in all three zones and played a lot of big minutes for us.”

Illini prepare for final home stretch

Illinois now turns its attention to next weekend’s matchups against McKendree (10-15-0, 28 pts). The teams last met in November, when Illinois recorded its highest scoring series of the season. The Illini took both contests, totaling 12 goals in 6-4 and 6-2 wins.

Opilka concisely pointed to what the Illini need to focus on in the games.

“Discipline,” Opilka said. “We need to stop taking bad penalties and giving teams opportunities on the power play.”

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