Nearly two months in-between games?
 
No problem.
 
Taking the ice for the first time since December 3, the Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey team finished off the home side of its 2023-24 regular season schedule in style, knocking off the University of Denver twice in the span of 26 hours at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix. The Lopes came from behind in both games to win, using a six-goal onslaught on the 3^rd period Saturday to beat the Pioneers, 8-2, before scoring the final four goals of Sunday's afternoon matchup for a 5-3 victory. It was the team's first series sweep in exactly a calendar year and the wins snapped a three-game losing skid.

Saturday: GCU 8, Denver 2

Despite having beaten Denver six consecutive times, the Lopes entered the weekend as underdogs to the upstart Pioneers (6-7 overall, 1-5 WWCHL), who are enjoying their best season in years. The Pioneers wasted little time showing the Lopes their improvement, scoring less than three minutes into the contest. The Lopes responded with the tying goal three minutes later – courtesy of Reese Gingrich on assists from Rory Arteaga and Arianna Harden. The tie stayed intact until early in the 2^nd period, when the Pioneers took advantage of a Lopes' penalty to take the lead back on Chelsea Donovan's second goal of the afternoon. DU maintained the lead until late in the 2^nd, when the Lopes used their own power play to get even on Belle LaCombe's 4^th goal of the year and send the teams to intermission knotted at 2-2. LaCombe's score not only inspired her but the rest of the team as well, since GCU came out with an endless display of offense for the next 20 minutes. LaCombe's second goal of the day gave the Lopes their first lead in the opening minute of the third, and that was followed by two more goals in the next three minutes from Morgan Butler and Taylor Klassen. Denver tried to keep up offensively, but their 13 shots on goal in the final frame were all thwarted by Lopes' goalie Hannah Schneidmiller. That allowed the Lopes to put the game well out of reach with Kelsey Bonello's first career goal, and two more LaCombe goals in a two-minute span.
 
The seniors were officially on display throughout the afternoon, since the four – LaCombe, Harden, Micah Summer and Niamh O'Mahony - were honored before the game, then all went out and contributed to the win. LaCombe enjoyed her first career four-goal day, Harden pitched in a pair of assists and Summer assisted on LaCombe's first score of the afternoon. Gingrich and Arteaga each had two assists, while Schneidmiller recorded 34 saves on the day.

Sunday: GCU 5, Denver 3
 
DU hoped 24 hours would cool off LaCombe's offense, but she dispelled that notion early on, taking the puck from the Lopes' zone through five Pioneers' defenders to give GCU a 1-0 lead less than three minutes in. After tying the game before the end of the first period, the Pioneers unexpectedly put the Lopes on the ropes by scoring a pair of shorthanded goals within 67 seconds of each other early in the 2^nd period. An occurrence that would make some teams pack up the tents for the rest of the game instead fortified the Lopes' resolve as they battled back with goals from Arteaga and Natalie Saldi to salvage a 3-3 tie by the end of the period. Like Saturday, Denver fired 13 shots on goal in the 3^rd period, but once again, Lopes' goalkeeping – in this case, Lopes' sophomore goalie Olivia Cronin – kept them without a score. That allowed the Lopes to finally break the tie with 6:49 left on Summer's power-play score. In desperation, the Pioneers pulled their goalie for the offensive advantage with just under three minutes left in regulation, but the Lopes' defense never allowed DU to mount an attack and finally ended the suspense with a Jenna Sorenson empty-netter with 18 seconds left to seal the sweep.
 
The balanced attack was showcased by seven different Lopes contributing assists – led by two assists from freshman Natalya Hooey. Cronin kept Denver scoreless in all four of their power play opportunities, saving 35 shots in the win.
 
The regular season now winds up for the Lopes across town two weeks from now on February 2 and 3 in Tempe as they face off against archrival Arizona State University. Puck drop on Friday, February 2 is scheduled for 9 PM.