"Hangin' around" makes a difference.
 
After spending its last four games trying to battle back from behind in the final period, the Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey team stayed even with Montana State University heading to the 3^rd period of both weekend contests before owning the last minutes of each en route to a much-needed sweep in Bozeman, Montana. Reese Gingrich provided the game-winning goal midway through the final period Friday night in GCU's 3-2 win, then the Lopes blew open a tie game in the last 20 minutes Saturday to win, 5-2. The weekend snapped a four-game losing skid for the Lopes (3-5 overall, 2-4 WWCHL) and kept the Bobcats winless on the season (0-8 overall, 0-6 WWCHL).

Friday: GCU 3, Montana State 2

They'd been slow out of the gates of their last two games, so when Lopes' freshman Sydney Silvester registered her first college goal two minutes into the contest, Lopes' Head Coach Reid Miller was relieved. While the Lopes didn't score again in the first period, Miller was encouraged, not worried, because GCU's 15 shots on goal in the first period was easily a season-high for the team. The drought allowed the Bobcats to tie the game, though, thanks to a power-play goal from Maeve Kelleher midway through the second frame. The Lopes took back the momentum before the second intermission after fellow Lopes' frosh Savannah Song lit the lamp for the first time in her young career with two minutes left in the 2^nd to put the Lopes up one.
 
The Lopes only committed six penalties all game long, but MSU used two of them to provide their offense, since like their first score, Goal #2 came on the power play at the midpoint of the final period. By that time, though, the Lopes' attack (22 shots on goal in the final period) had worn down MSU backline, who watched Gingrich, the Lopes' scoring leader, skate past them to score her 5^th goal of the year with 7:13 left. The Bobcats fired a dozen shots on goal themselves in the final 20 minutes, but that didn't faze Lopes' freshman goalie Samantha Mayberry, who won her college debut by shutting the Bobcats down in the final moments, stopping 29 MSU attempts overall.
 
Saturday: GCU 5, Montana State 2
 
Once again, the Lopes were aggressive from the outset, even outdoing their first period 24 hours before with a 17-shot attack that yielded goals from Gingrich and Elizabeth Ramsey for a 2-0 cushion after one. That same aggressiveness came back to burn the Lopes in the 2^nd period via penalties, since the Bobcats pulled even thanks to a 5-on-3 power-play goal in the first minute of the period, and then on another power-play score with four minutes left.
 
Miller's locker-room speech during the second intermission must've worked, because the Lopes spent no time in the penalty box during the 3^rd period, and took advantage when Montana State did. GCU started the 3^rd period on the power play, taking the lead 82 seconds in on Ava Johnson's first score of the year, then half a period later, again with a player advantage, Lopes' freshman Sophie Armit gave the Lopes a two-goal lead they wouldn't relinquish. GCU's Riley Benson capped off the scoring with her first goal of the year with just over six minutes left. Miller again started a new goaltender and saw his team reap the benefits as Sydney Fornwald swatted away 24 MSU shot attempts – including all nine in the final period. Offensively, while there were five different Lopes' goal scorers, Lopes' sophomores Natalya Hooey and Natalie Saldi were everywhere they were needed, contributing a total of five assists combined.
 
With next weekend free, the Lopes briefly celebrated the sweep before starting their prep work two weekends from now when they'll play three games in the span of 48 hours. After facing Arizona State University in Tempe on Friday, November 15, the Lopes will return to their home ice of AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix to finish out the weekend with league games against Colorado State University on November 16 and 17. Saturday's puck drop is scheduled for 5:30PM and Sunday's scheduled for high noon.