Before the Grand Canyon University men's ice hockey Team 1 could get to blasting Sweet Caroline in the locker room after the game, they needed a little spark.
The Lopes received that again, again, again and again; scoring four goals on 12 shots in the 3rd period en route to their first win of the year, a 6-4 win over the Colorado State Rams.
"The guys regrouped in the intermission and reset, and answered for the hole that we dug ourselves in," GCU men's head ice hockey coach Danny Roy said.
The Lopes went into the final period down 3-2, and had been outshot 29-20, but wasted no time getting back in the game. Nick Marolda tied the game three minutes in as he circled back from the left corner and lifted a high wrister into the net. Just four minutes later, with the Lopes on the penalty kill, Trey Greene used his speed to split two CSU defenders for a breakaway, shorthanded goal, igniting the already lively Lopes bench.
"That was big for Trey and huge for the bench," Roy said.
Luke Wilson would tack on another two minutes later and Tim Van Tuinen tallied the final GCU goal on a two-line, tape-to-tape pass from Tyler Kurek with seven minutes remaining.
The first and second periods were a different story as the Lopes allowed several odd-man rushes leading to multiple scoring chances for the Rams. Despite the close margin headed into the final period, Roy knew exactly why the Lopes were trailing.
"The difference was execution," Roy said. "The first two periods, we did not execute anything. There was a serious lack of desire, fire and compete."
To allow the Lopes to even execute the way they did in the third period, GCU rode a big performance from goalkeeper Michael Barabash, who stopped 31 of 35 shots, sprawling and diving to make many key saves.
"He kept us in the game for those first two periods," Roy said. "He battled and he gave us a chance, and that's all you can ask for from your goalie."
GCU next travels to California for three games in three days, battling the Matadors of Cal-State Northridge for two games, and then one against the San Diego State Aztecs.
GCU Keeps Pace with DI Arizona, Falls Late
Continuing their string of Division I opponents to begin the season, GCU saw a similar thread throughout their matchup against the University of Arizona in Tucson last Friday. Much like their previous starts against Arizona State, the Lopes kept the game close throughout, but ultimately fell to the Wildcats, 5-3.
"[Arizona] is big, fast, physical, and they don't quit," Roy said. "Our guys had to keep up with that speed. We had them on their heels a little bit, but we just started to taper off and made some mental mistakes toward the end."
The disadvantage of size was evident for the Lopes, but GCU used their speed and aggression to keep pace. GCU was credited with an Arizona own goal in the last minute of the first period to tie the game at 1. Arizona regained the lead three minutes into the second period, but GCU once again battled back 10 minutes later and tied the game at two apiece on a Gabe Rankin power play goal.
Arizona, though, turned up the pressure in the third period, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes. The Lopes got within one with 6:39 remaining as Nick Marolda found an open shooting lane in the high slot, but the Wildcats scored an insurance goal four minutes later to seal the win.
Despite the loss, GCU received another outstanding performance between the pipes as Michael Norris stopped 49 of 54 Arizona shots.
"Norris is a gamer," Roy said. "He competes and no matter what the shot count is, you know he's going to keep the game close and give us an opportunity."
