One down…

Acting nothing like rookie participants, the Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team earned a piece of history Thursday night, cashing in the game-winning goal off the stick of Mikhail Simchuk with 3:04 remaining to win their first-ever game at the American Collegiate Hockey League Division 1 National Championships, 4-3, over 16^th-seeded Illinois State University in St. Louis, Missouri. The win punched the Lopes' tickets for a 2nd-round showdown with the top team in the nation, #1 Minot State from North Dakota.

If there were jitters among the guys wearing purple, the 17^th-seeded Lopes (20-14 overall) showed little sign of it once the opening puck dropped. GCU opened the game with a barrage of shots on the Redbirds' defense, staking themselves to a 1-0 lead just four minutes in on a shot by Ben Oakland on assists from Cameron Neaylon and Triston Tabucol. The Lopes held the lead for the next seven minutes until ISU's Pavel Bakhtin snuck one past GCU goalie Dmytro Zubritskyi for just his 3^rd goal of the season, tying the game at 1-1 after one period. The Lopes' first adversity of the tournament came five minutes into the 2^nd frame as ISU's Tony Campise's 18^th goal of the campaign put the Lopes in their first postseason hole, 2-1. After firing 16 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, the GCU attack slowed in the 2^nd until Tabucol tied the match with just over three minutes left in the period – sending the teams to the 2^nd intermission deadlocked, 2-2.

Once more in the 3^rd, Illinois State found the net first as Will Tricarico slapped the puck past Kubrytskyi with 14:42 left to put the Lopes one goal down. The response was earth-shattering as the Lopes won the ensuing faceoff, sped down the ice, and 12 seconds later, Hunter Schmitz and Caden Henrikson set up Booker Chacalias, who evened the score one more time. While the 3^rd period was the only frame that the Lopes were outshot (9-6), the Lopes' back line stiffened, pitching a shutout from there. Finally, with just over three minutes left in regulation, Neaylon and Braden Husby gave Simchuk the chance to be the hero, and he took it, finding the back of the net to seal GCU's 10^th straight win. Oakland and Tabucol each had an assist to go along with their goals, and Kubritskyi's 1^st postseason game between the pipes was masterful with 18 saves.

GCU now advances to Round 2 to face a familiar foe, since the top-ranked Beavers knocked off the Lopes twice in North Dakota in early December. The Lopes will look to play a true spoiler, since Minot is seeking their 2^nd straight national title, and their 3^rd since 2019. Puck drop Friday night is scheduled for 7PM Arizona time, and all of the tournament's games will be streamed live on the FloHockey website or FloHockey app. There is a cost involved to view each game.