Seeing was believing Friday night. Seeing wasn't easy a night later.
 
Battling both an opponent that was nationally ranked to end last season as well as the indoor result of a full day of rain outside, the Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey team split their weekend series with the University of Colorado to open the home side of their 2022-23 season at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix. The Lopes' defense came to the forefront Friday night as they blanked the Buffaloes, 3-0, then played from behind Saturday but nearly stormed back late in a 2-1 loss to CU.
 
Friday:  GCU 3, Colorado 0
 
Showing they learned from the 54-shot onslaught they endured from Arizona State University two nights before, the Lopes' defense gave GCU goalkeeper Hannah Schneidmiller plenty of help, not only doing a much better job clearing the puck out of their own zone, but using their energy to keep things happening on offense throughout the first two periods. The Lopes spent the first period working on Buffs' netminder Andrea Bierbaum until breaking through late, with Sydney Boucher and Belle LaCombe finding Alyssa Olson in front of the net with 12 seconds left, and Olson finding the back of the net to break the scoreless tie. Teamwork gave the Lopes some insurance nine minutes into the second period, with Micah Summer capitalizing on setups from both Willow Troy and Cassidy Niemi to slap it past Bierbaum for a 2-0 lead. While the Buffs stepped up the intensity on offense in the 3^rd period, outshooting GCU, 13-9, in the frame, their intensity also resulted in six penalties, including Sydney Browne pulling down GCU's Reese Gingrich during a breakaway, setting up a rare penalty shot that Gingrich cashed in past Bierbaum to end the scoring.
 
Schneidmiller followed up her 50-save performance against ASU by stopping all 31 CU shots on goal, and GCU gave CU just four power-play opportunities - all of which the Lopes' defense squelched successfully.
 
"We took away their time and space a lot, which was one of our goals of the day," said Lopes' Head Coach Natalie Rossi. "We had that competitive edge. We really worked in Thursday's practice on battling and using our bodies correctly, so we took fewer penalties, too."
 
Saturday:  Colorado 2, GCU 1
 
While the 1/3 of an inch of rain that fell in Phoenix Saturday washed out most of GCU Club Sports' other outside events, it lent a different twist to the Lopes' indoor hockey activity while still allowing them to play.
 
A ton of fog inside the rink.
 
The extra humidity generated by the precipitation had officials on edge throughout the contest, and ready to call the game if necessary due to safety concerns. The reduced visibility never reached that point, but it made the latter half of each period harder to navigate when the steam rose.
 
"Early on, it just kept us a little distracted, because it's hard to focus when you can't always see," Rossi said. "It's sometimes hard to stay in the game when you can't see from the bench and stay an active participant. We have to battle those things, but we also have to be able to overcome them to be successful."
 

The Buffs used the better visibility early in the period to their advantage, scoring in the first six minutes of both the second and third periods to take a 2-0 lead with 18 minutes left in the game. By then, the Lopes had apparently decided to forcefully battle through the mist, coming up with 13 shots on goal, a season-high so far. GCU finally broke through the CU defense in the game's final minute, with Boucher scoring the Lopes' second shorthanded goal of the season with 29 seconds left, but the Lopes couldn't mount a further offensive to tie it. The Lopes actually outshot an opponent for the first time on the year, 32-30, and GCU netminder Elsa Kurtz stopped 28 shots in her first start of the season, but was outlasted by CU goalie Camille Kouroriez, who saved 31 shots on goal to post the win.
 
The Lopes will now get used to the road, since they'll spend the next month on the road, not returning home to AZ Ice Arcadia until Friday and Saturday, November 18 and 19, when they'll host Colorado State University in a two-game set. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:15 PM on November 18, and 7 PM the next night.