They had to wait all spring and all summer to celebrate it.
 
Plus an extra 90 seconds.
 
GCU freshman forward Bridget Graybill's first career college goal in the 2^nd minute of Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey's 8-0 season-opening victory Friday night at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix set the tone for the rest of the night and weekend. Eight members of the new-look Lopes scored goals Friday night, with Sophie Armit's first career three-goal night highlighting five different scorers in GCU's 7-3 win Saturday. The sweep also helped the Lopes open Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League play with two straight wins for the first time in the program's history.

Friday: GCU 8, Wyoming 0

With his four-year starter at goalie and the 2025 ACHA D1 scoring champion now graduated, Lopes' Head Coach Reid Miller hoped it wouldn't just be his returners who flexed their collective muscle in Game 1 against the undermanned Cowgirls. Miller didn't wait long to get his answer, since in addition to Graybill, fellow newcomers Taylor Zahalka and Alyssa Vollmin took advantage of their first-ever college starts to each cash in a goal, and freshman Jennae Szucs even closed out the night's scoring with her first career score with 42 seconds left. The eight different goal scorers included two freshmen that signed on with the Lopes for the spring semester last season, Abigail Brigg (who also contributed three assists) and Courtney Briggs (no relation). The only two to light the lamp that weren't freshmen? Sophomore returners Armit, who scored the Lopes' third and final goal of the first period on the Lopes' 23^rd shot on goal; and Natalya Hooey one minute into the third frame. GCU wound up firing a whopping 70 shots at resilient Wyoming goalie Alayna Smith, who recorded 62 saves. Lopes' goalie Sydney Fornwald may not have seen that kind of action on the other end of the rink, but her saves on all 16 Cowgirls' shots earned the Lopes' sophomore her first shutout in her fourth career start.
 
"It was nice to see the balance – especially with the growth and the work we put in over the summer recruiting," said Miller. "We're only going to get better with production from everyone throughout the lineup instead of just one or two players."
 
Saturday: GCU 7, Wyoming 3
 
Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is beat a beatable team twice in the span of 24 hours, and the Lopes wore that throughout the first period Saturday. GCU outshot the Cowgirls in the period, 15-1, but didn't score until the final 92 seconds of the frame - courtesy of GCU sophomore right wing Ava Johnson. The Lopes regrouped during the first intermission, with the renewed fire evident as Armit provided back-to-back insurance goals within four minutes of each other in the second period, Brigg adding an unassisted score just 20 seconds later, and Vollmin closing the 2^nd period with the Lopes' 5^th goal of the night. The score was on the way to mirroring Friday's final until the Cowgirls took advantage of a couple of late lapses in GCU's energy level, scoring three times in a four-minute span midway through the final period. Armit finally restored order with 7:15 left, registering her first career 'hat trick' on assists from Brigg and Hooey. Brigg's seven points (two goals, five assists) and Armit's five (four and one) led the weekend attack, but a total of nine different Lopes registered at least two points during the series.
 
The Lopes now get a weekend off to prepare for a non-conference, home-and-home series against the University of Arizona October 3 and 4. The Wildcats will host Friday's game in Tucson before the two teams head back north to AZ Ice Arcadia for Game 2 Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 5:30PM Saturday, October 4.