The Eastern hockey club hosts its final series of the semester this Friday and Saturday, as Davenport University enters the David S. Palmer Arena in Danville.

For the Panthers’ Andrew Teske, it will be his final two games of his college career. Teske, a senior exercise science major, has been a member of the Eastern hockey club for five seasons.

“Yes, this will be my last two games wearing the Eastern sweater,” Teske said. “I’m feeling pretty good about it though. This is the first time we are playing a team that also only has three lines of players.”

Having a limited numbers of lines and players was a common problem for the Panthers last season. The lack of skaters led to players having to take on longer on-ice shifts.

Despite only have a roster of 15 players, Davenport has posted a record of 10-1.

“Well I know that they have a great record and they have some good guys, but so does every decent team,” Teske said. “This will be the ultimate test to see what we’re made of. Finally we can’t say, well, we didn’t have as many guys as them. So I think this is good for us.”

Teske, who has played both forward and goalie for the Panthers this season, said he will likely be in goal for his last two games.

“Right now my thoughts are me being between the pipes for both games,” he said. “The team and I both know I’ll do whatever for these boys, whether it be playing goalie or skating out, but I feel like our best chance at the sweep is me in the net.”

Eastern is coming off two close losses to Northwestern. Teske said playing against tough teams with a limited number of players can be difficult, but that he’s proud of the team’s effort.

“Yeah it’s been rough against teams like Missouri State, ISU, and NIU who are all making runs and leaning towards moving up to playing D1 hockey,” Teske said. “Overall I think it’s just us learning from our mistakes. We’re a young team and I know that the team is heading in the right direction.”

Teske said the Panthers’ started the season with only true defensemen, forcing some players to make a change from offense to defense.

“I really think all the guys who have made the change to Defense have really stepped up as of late and are starting to look like true defensemen,” he said. “Also our forwards have been starting to get more opportunities and scoring chances and actually finishing them in games so that helps.”

Forward Glenn Oskvarek said not having Teske for the second half of the season will be a big loss for the team.

“Teske has been of great value to his club,” he said. “He holds great values besides his skill set that made him a great asset for this team. He shows it by his leadership both on and off the ice and it’s been an honor to play with him as my goalie for the past two seasons.”

Friday’s game starts at 8 p.m., while Saturday’ game starts at 2 p.m.

Dominic Renzetti can be reached at 581-2812 or dcrenzetti@eiu.edu.