Needing a sweep to help their playoff hopes, the 25^th-ranked Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team accomplished the goal in thrilling fashion, sweeping archrival University of Arizona, 2-1 and 4-3, over the weekend in their home finales at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix. The wins put the Lopes (16-13-1 overall, 8-10 WCHL) three games over the .500 mark overall for the first time all season and dropped the 14^th-ranked Wildcats to a mark of 11-13-1 overall, and 6-9-1 in Western Collegiate Hockey League play. The wins also salvaged a split of the four-game season series between the two squads.





















The defensive intensity was constant and relentless for the Lopes all weekend long – as evidenced by Friday's 2-1 win, where the Lopes never trailed, shut down the UA offense completely in the first and third periods, and used 2^nd-period goals from Triston Tabucol and Kolby Donovan (scored within seven minutes of each other) to build and maintain the lead. Ukrainian import Dmytro Kubritskyi was masterful in goal for the Lopes, stopping 26 of 27 Wildcat shots in getting the win. The Lopes outshot Arizona on the night, 44-27, with 20 of those shots coming in the final period. The Lopes only committed four penalties.

The Wildcats refocused for Saturday and jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals in the first five minutes of play. Their physical play bothered the Lopes for the first 10 minutes, but once GCU began to adjust, the momentum swung in the second period. GCU cashed in on five Wildcats' penalties in the second period to tie it up on power-play goals from Caden Henrikson and Hunter Schmitz, then after falling behind again, took command in the 3^rd frame with the tying goal from Booker Chacalias (on another power play) with 14 minutes left and the clincher from Mikhail Simchuk with 7:11 left to seal the comeback. The Lopes allowed just nine Arizona shots in the first two periods, outshooting UA for the night, 35-22. Chacalias added a pair of assists to his goal on the evening, while Henrikson and Schmitz had an assist each. The Lopes were an impressive 3-for-5 on power-play opportunities, and Lopes' goalie Riley Morgan overcame a slow start to save 19 shots – including 13 in the final period. Morgan and fellow senior Kory Potach were honored in pregame festivities before taking the home ice for the final time in their careers.

The Lopes' regular season schedule finishes this weekend with three huge games in the Sooner State, taking on 23^rd-ranked University of Oklahoma Thursday, February 8 and then 3^rd-ranked University of Central Oklahoma Friday and Saturday, February 9 and 10 – all in Oklahoma City.