Nine straight wins? A program mark.

14 in a row? A national trophy.

Bolstered by a team-record nine-game winning streak, the Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team secured a berth in the American Collegiate Hockey League Division 1 National Championships for the first time in the program's history. The Lopes finished ranked 17^th in the ACHA Final Regular Season D1 Poll, ensuring a trip to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 24-team event. The Lopes will face off against 16^th-seeded Illinois State University in their first-round matchup – with the winner advancing to the 2^nd round against the top team in the nation, Minot State University from North Dakota.

The possibility of reaching this milestone for the program seemed a distant one at the start of the spring semester. An eight-game losing streak early in the fall had sunk them towards the bottom of the Western Collegiate Hockey League standings, and the Lopes were 7-12 after finishing off the fall semester with a pair of tough losses at Minot State. They also saw the spring half of their schedule loaded with nationally ranked opponents.





















Undeterred, the Lopes found their rhythm by taking three of four games against archrival Arizona State University in mid-January, then became defensive stalwarts from late January on. In GCU's last eight games, they've outscored their opponents by a combined score of 28-11 and finished off the regular season schedule with sweeps of 13^th-ranked University of Arizona and 3^rd-ranked University of Central Oklahoma, with a road win over then-25^th-ranked University of Oklahoma in between them. The Lopes finished the regular season with a 19-14 overall mark and winning eight of their final 10 WCHL matchups rocketed them from 29^th to 17^th in the ACHA Poll over the regular season's final month.

"I am very excited for our guys knowing that their efforts this semester was enough to launch us up into a nationals spot," said Lopes' Head Coach Danny Roy. "Now the focus is to put in the work to continue this streak."

The Lopes' first-round opponent is one they'll face for the first time ever. Illinois State (22-11 overall) finished 4^th in a very tough Midwest College Hockey league and were upset by Midland University in the first round of the MCH Tournament last week. The Redbirds made their first-ever appearance at the ACHA National Tournament a year ago. The GCU-ISU faceoff is scheduled for 7:30PM (Arizona time) on Thursday, March 7, and a Lopes' win pits them against #1 Minot State for the third time this season on Friday night, March 8. The Lopes need five wins to earn the right to hoist their first-ever national title trophy.