Close, but no cigar.
The Grand Canyon University Men's D1 Hockey team suffered two one-goal losses to University of Arizona over the weekend in Tucson. The losses dropped the Lopes' season record to 4-6.
"Win, lose, or draw, it's clear that we are an improved team this year," said Lopes' Head Coach Danny Roy. "We're playing in tight games against tough teams which will benefit us in the rankings."
Friday: UofA 2, GCU 1 (F/2OT)
In the first game of the back-to-back, although the Lopes controlled pace and possession for the majority of the first period, one defensive lapse led to a Wildcats' score, the lone goal of the first period.
The Lopes became complacent in the second period, allowing UofA to get inside and get quality shots off. Fortunately, Lopes' keeper Scott Kasaboski didn't let the Wildcats cash in on any of their chances, making key saves to keep the deficit at 1-0 after two.
In the third, the Lopes regained control of the ice, keeping pressure on the Wildcats' defense, but were unable to score for most of the period. With two minutes left in regulation, Roy called a timeout to rally his troops and draw up a game plan. Coming out of the timeout, the Lopes found themselves in a 6-on-4 powerplay, and with 58 seconds left in regulation, center Cameron Neaylon notched the game-tying goal to force overtime.
OT was a back-and-forth struggle with neither team able to secure the sudden-death score. The game went into a final shootout, and after eight rounds, UofA capitalized on a Lopes' miss and scored to clinch the victory. The game goes down as a loss for GCU in conference play, but a tie in the American Collegiate Hockey Association standings.
Saturday: UofA 3, GCU 2
The following day, the Lopes jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period on two solid strikes from Blake Billings. In the second, GCU fought hard but were stifled by some controversial penalty calls, allowing the Wildcats to tie the game at 2-2.
The score stayed even until eight minutes left in the game, when UofA snuck a ricochet shot into the net to take the 3-2 advantage. Roy again called a timeout with two minutes left to draw up another game-tying play. This time, though, the Lopes were unable to score as the final horn sounded.
The Lopes are now 1-2 against the Wildcats with two more matchups left this season.
"UofA is well-coached, and they made the proper adjustments from the last time we met," said Roy. "We played two great games against a team that I consider to be a top-8 program in the nation."
After a busy weekend across the league, the ACHA released official league rankings for all 68 teams. The Lopes find themselves in the middle of the pack at No. 33overall – four spots down from their previous rank at No. 29.
"It's early in the season, so there is still a lot fluctuation in the rankings," said Roy. "Playing in close games helps, but winning will give us the best opportunity to improve our rank."
Next up, the Lopes will have another in-state, back-to-back test against Arizona State University on November 12 and 13 in Tempe at 8 pm and 7 pm, respectfully.
