Proving that 'kill or be killed' doesn't always work in hockey, the
Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team overcame one-sided power-play stats to defeat Davenport University, 6-3, Wednesday night at GCU's home ice,
AZ Ice Arcadia, in Phoenix. It was GCU's first-ever meeting with the school based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it's the second straight season that the Lopes have opened the season with a win.
With a lineup that featured three new players among the starting six, the Lopes expected it would take some time for the chemistry to gel. Wednesday night, it took all of eleven minutes to connect. After falling behind, 1-0, early in the first period, the Lopes' offense woke up to the tune of two goals in a 15-second span midway through the period, thanks to newcomer
Triston Tabucol's slapper followed by an unassisted
Anthony Petrotto goal in the 12
th minute.
While the Lopes wouldn't lead by more than two goals until the final three minutes of the contest, GCU never trailed again – despite a glaring weakness that happened throughout the night.
"We had a really strong forecheck game in the five-on-five," said
Lopes' Head Coach Danny Roy. "The real trouble was that we couldn't stop anything on the penalty kills."
The Lopes led by two at the end of both the first and second periods, but the Panthers took advantage of their power-play opportunities, drawing within a goal midway through both the 2
nd and 3
rd thanks to Lopes' players heading to the penalty box. DU was 3-for-6 in power-play chances, while the Lopes went 0-for-7 in the same category. The Lopes' speed eventually overwhelmed the Panthers late in the game, though, when
Kory Potach stole the puck deep in the Davenport's zone, and whipped around the back of the net to beat DU goalie Nathan Gauthier with a wraparound with four minutes left. Tabucol then put it out of reach with his second goal of the night with 2:31 left.
"We need to clean a few things up for tomorrow, but it was our first game together," said Roy. "We're getting to know the systems and each other, so I expect it to get better as we get going."
The Lopes won't think about the game very long, since they're back in action tonight (Thursday) against the University of Utah at AZ Ice Arcadia. Puck drop is scheduled for 8PM.
