Different place. Different ice. Different lighting.

Same ferocity.

In a game that didn't clear the ice until nearly midnight, the Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team overcame nine penalties and several 3^rd-period dustups to knock off 13^th-ranked University of Arizona, 3-2, Friday night at AZ Ice Gilbert in Phoenix's East Valley. The non-conference victory kept building on the best start ever to a season on the Division 1 level for the 11^th-ranked Lopes (5-0 overall, 4-0 WCHL).

The recent temporary closure of the Lopes' "home ice", AZ Ice Arcadia, due to storm damage moved the game to Gilbert and a very late 9:40PM puck drop, but all the later start time did was give the players a chance to ratchet up the intensity of the in-state rivalry. That steam built through a relatively clean 1^st 20 minutes in which the only three penalties of the period were on the Lopes, which allowed the Wildcats to use the power play to tie the game at 1-1 on a Riley Ruh goal (neutralizing Jack Dolan's first goal of the season for GCU earlier in the period). The score stayed the same throughout the 2^nd period, which exemplified how aggressive the two defenses became, resulting in five more visits to the penalty box between the two teams.

Both the scoring and the penalties increased in the final 20 minutes, and the two parts would coincide in the game's final two scores. The Lopes broke back out on top two minutes into the 3^rd period on Michael Schwartz's 6^th score of the season. That was the final "even strength" goal of the night as 10 of the final 14 minutes of regulation involved penalty minutes from at least one side or the other. The Wildcats were the first to take advantage of that as Nicholas Chiocca knotted the game up again with a power-play goal with 12:23 left. They wouldn't get many more chances, though, as the Lopes' defense held UA to just six shots in the final stanza. GCU used a power play of their own to seal the outcome, with Jack Thomas and Colby Jaquet decoying the Wildcats' defense before Owen Hanson darted in, took a quick pass from Jaquet and scored with 9:23 left. Six more whistles ensued – including two after the final horn when the teams had to be separated – but they ultimately didn't affect the outcome.

As has been their custom to start this season, the Lopes lopsidedly outshot their opponents by 17, but lost in the glare of the offense was GCU's defense holding Arizona to just 21 shots for the game. That made things easier for Lopes' goalie Dmytro Kubrytskyi, who stopped 19 of them to earn his 3^rd win of the year.

The Lopes' rearranging of schedules now takes them from the east to the west valley. After this weekend's series against UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Lopes will head to their old stomping grounds of AZ Ice Peoria (which housed the team for its first three years of existence) to host the University of Colorado on October 25 and 26. Puck drop that Saturday night is scheduled for 7:15PM, with Game 2 scheduled for Sunday, October 26 at noon. AZ Ice Peoria is located at 15829 North 83^rd Avenue in Peoria.