Everyone was on board for kicking off the new era in style.
Except the opponents and the schedule-makers.
Commencing the season by playing five straight games against teams ranked 11
th or higher in the last season's American Collegiate Hockey Association Women's D1 Final Poll, the
Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey team dropped a pair of games to No. 6 Maryville University (Missouri), 5-2 and 9-2, this past weekend at
AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix. The losses spoiled the head coaching debut of
Jess Conlon, who ascended to the top spot in July after spending two years as the Lopes' assistant. The sweep capped off a successful opening stretch to open the season for the Saints, who split their first four games last week against two other top-10 teams, McKendree University and Arizona State University, before facing the Lopes.
Saturday: Maryville 5, GCU 2
The Saints took advantage of not only the higher ranking and the fact they'd already played four games, but also that the Lopes had just two weeks of practice under their belts before taking the ice Friday. The Saints hammered the Lopes' defense for 19 shots on goal in the first period, but Lopes' returning goalie
Hannah Schneidmiller was unfazed, effectively stopping all but one shot in the first 20 minutes. The Lopes committed just three penalties in Friday's game, but Maryville used two of them to cash in power-play goals, eventually building a 4-1 lead after two periods and maintaining the lead throughout the 3
rd period. Schneidmiller saved 40 of 45 shots on the night, and
Micah Summer and
Belle LaCombe each had a goal and an assist for the Lopes.
Sunday: Maryville 9, GCU 2
Lopes' sophomore goalie
Olivia Cronin made her season debut (and just her 5
th career start) between the pipes, but the Saints welcomed her rudely, breaking through for three goals in the game's first eight minutes.
Reese Gingrich momentarily changed the momentum midway through the 1
st period, using a
Rory Arteaga assist pass to get the Lopes on the board, but Maryville seized control back just 70 seconds later, and were never derailed after that. Summer scored the Lopes' second goal in the game's final seconds.
"The team understands that goals are not reached overnight," said Conlon. "We knew that in order to become a top contending team, we'd have to play the best and learn from the outcome. Losses like the ones we experienced this weekend would normally deter a team, but what we learned was how to maintain resiliency and respect the process towards the long-term goal."
By the time the Lopes return to AZ Ice Arcadia for their next home games October 27 (7PM puck drop) and 28 (6PM) against the University of Utah, they will be fully battle-tested and have another full month of practice behind them. The Lopes' first road trip of the 2023-24 season begins this Friday in Fremont, Nebraska, as they battle No. 11 University of Jamestown (North Dakota) in a single game, then will face 2023 ACHA National Tournament semifinalist Midland University Saturday and Sunday.
