The unusually cold conditions inside AZ Ice Arcadia Saturday lingered even after the visitors got on the bus to head north.

Braving temperatures inside the arena that had to remind them of outdoors this time of year in their native North Dakota, the 2^nd-ranked team in the nation, Minot State University, saw its offense go chilly as well Saturday night, allowing the 13^th-ranked Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team to take them to overtime and pull off a 1-0 upset. The win ended the Lopes' fall semester on the best of notes, handing them a milestone over the highest-ranked team ever defeated by a GCU Hockey squad. The W was the Lopes' first win over the Beavers in 10 tries, earned a split of the weekend series (Minot defeated GCU, 4-2, Friday) and snapped a three-game losing skid overall.

Friday night, the Beavers dictated the pace of the game throughout the first two periods, scoring a pair of goals in each frame (two within 60 seconds of each other in the first period), and outshot GCU through the first 40 minutes, 26-17. The Lopes finally found their footing in the final period, shoring up their defense, controlling the puck and scoring the lone goal of the period with 7:20 left on Tyler Misialek's 6^th goal of the year.

The Lopes seemed to show what they learned in the Friday loss right out of the gate Saturday, firing 10 shots on goal in the first period at Beavers' goalie Jake Anthony, but still couldn't find the back of the net. Lopes' goalie Dmytro Kubrytskyi matched Anthony, knocking five Beavers' shots away in the first 20 minutes despite GCU giving Minot State four minutes of power plays. The Beavers regrouped after the first intermission, peppering Kubrytskyi with 25 shots over the next two periods, but the native of Kyiv, Ukraine wouldn't budge. While GCU only managed 11 shots over that same 40-minute span, they had a couple of chances to win the game in regulation, but couldn't convert, which left the teams still scoreless after the 3^rd-period horn sounded.

The 3-on-3, sudden-death overtime format has been a challenge for GCU, since before Saturday, they hadn't posted an overtime victory in nearly two years, but the freezing home fans didn't have to wait long to see that change and happily head out into the 60-degree Phoenix night. In the first minute of the extra frame, GCU's Colton Gerken fired a pass to Hunter Schmitz in the Beavers' zone – just as the two teams were changing shifts. As soon as Lopes' starting defenseman Jack Thomas stepped onto the ice, Schmitz hit him with a pass that gave Thomas an open shot at the MSU goal. Thomas pounced, going top-shelf over Anthony's shoulder for the game-winner in what was the only shot on goal by either team in the OT.

The Lopes will have nearly a full month to revel in the upset win, then get back into action for the spring by battling their two archrivals – the University of Arizona and Arizona State University - on the road in successive weekends. GCU's next home series happens Friday and Saturday, January 24 and 25 as they host the University of Oregon at AZ Ice Arcadia. Puck drop Friday is scheduled for 5:45PM. GCU students get in FREE with their student ID, and game tickets are available on the GCU Club Sports website.