MANDAN, N.D. – The University of Providence ended their season on a high-note, defeating Davenport University 6-3 in the final round of pool play at the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II National Tournament.

"I thought we played well," head coach Jeff Heimel said. "We responded well and competed hard. We wanted to come out and represent our program and our school well with our effort today. I felt like we did that today."

The Argos struck first with 4:29 left in the first period when Levi Anderson scored, though the Panthers responded with 35 seconds left in the period to make it one to one. Then began the Cooper Page show. The sophomore from Calgary, Alberta scored three straight goals for the hat trick, and more importantly give the Argos a three-game lead on the Panthers.

"He did well," Heimel said. "He did well all tournament. He's a guy that's won multiple championships at different levels. He showed up at this tournament and it was good to have his experience there. It was fun to see him put everyone on his back and go."

The Panthers made it interesting with a pair of third-period goals from Adam Hulsey and Tyler Majewski to cut the lead to one with 8:27 left. However Leo Felt came through with a goal off the assist from Page to make it 5-3. Will Wright scored with a minute remaining to secure the victory.

The Argos leave the National Tournament with a 1-2 record in pool play. Though the result isn't what the team wanted in their first taste of the postseason in program history, Heimel says it provided the ground work for deep postseason runs in the future.

"It was a great experience," Heimel said. "Obviously you want it to go one way and it didn't. Now we're picking up the pieces and thinking about the next step. Being here, seeing the other teams, getting a sense of the level is very important.  The guys that are coming back next year now understand what it's like to compete at this level so when we get an opportunity again, they're taking this experience and helping us take that next step."

The loss wraps up the season for the Argos, who have undergone a lot just to get there. The team qualified for the National Tournament last season, before the tournament was canceled because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The team had a longer offseason as well as they didn't return to campus until January. The team was behind the eight-ball compared to other teams, getting only 14 games in before the National Tournament.

"Because it was such a unique season, there was an opportunity to connect with the guys on a different level," Heimel said. "The times we were living in this season, I think we were all experiencing elements of that as a team. It was a unique opportunity to love them, to get to know them better, to connect with them on a different level. Some of those relationships and conversations are sweet and are something I never want to take back."