Same rink. Same rival. Same goalie turning away nearly everything at the other end.
 
Different story on the penalty kill.
 
One night after the University of Colorado turned three power plays into all three of its goals to spoil Grand Canyon University Women's Hockey's season opener, 3-2, the Lopes turned their biggest Friday headache into their biggest Saturday weapon. GCU killed off all five Buffaloes' power plays in the rematch at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix, and sophomore defenseman Hope Viskovicz even scored shorthanded for what proved to be the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory. The split leaves the Lopes at 1-1 both overall and in Western Women's Collegiate Hockey League play after two games against a familiar foe: the team they have upset in the final round of the WWCHL Playoffs each of the past two seasons to reach the American Collegiate Hockey Association Division 1 National Championships.
 
Friday: Colorado 3, GCU 2
 
If shots on goal decided hockey games, the opener of Lopes' Head Coach Reid Miller's 3^rd season would have been a runaway. The Lopes fired 43 shots at Colorado goalie Shira Wein to the Buffaloes' 21 – including a 19-2 advantage in the third period – but Wein stopped 41 of them, and CU made the most of the opportunities the Lopes handed over. After a scoreless first period, Lopes' sophomore forward Abigail Brigg needed just 15 seconds of the 2^nd frame to put GCU on the scoreboard for the first time this season off a Taylor Zahalka feed. A Lopes' penalty made the lead last less than two minutes, setting up CU's tying goal on the power play. Sophomore forward Alyssa Vollmin put GCU back in front with an unassisted goal at the 8:08 mark, but a too-many-players-on-the-ice call late in the period opened the door for the Buffaloes' Natalie Ewald to even the score again to head into 2^nd intermission knotted at 2-2. Ewald then struck once more with the extra skater four minutes into the 3^rd for CU's first lead of the night – one Wein protected for the victory. Lopes' sophomore goalie Annika Olson made 18 saves.
 
Saturday: GCU 2, Colorado 1
 
The Lopes again owned the shot chart in the rematch – 14-6 in the first period alone – and still had nothing to show for it through 20 minutes. This time, though, patience and the penalty kill paid off. GCU junior forward Sophie Armit broke the tie seven minutes into the second stanza on assists from Tayah Myhre and McKenna Burggraf. When the Lopes went a skater down just 81 seconds later, Friday's script flipped as the Lopes' doubled the edge when Myhre set up Viskovicz for a shorthanded goal. The Lopes' penalty killers faced their stiffest test midway through the third, when three GCU infractions in under two minutes gave Colorado an extended stretch with the advantage, but Olson and the unit in front of her held firm. The Buffaloes' Amelia Sowers finally spoiled Olson's shutout bid at even strength with four minutes left, but CU's final power-play stab in the final 46 seconds was foiled. Olson stopped 22 of the 23 shots she faced, while Wein took the loss despite 45 more Lopes' shots fired at her.
 
The Lopes now pack their bags for four road games in four days this Thursday through Sunday – first at the University of Wyoming for a pair of games before heading south to Fort Collins, Colorado to face Colorado State University over the weekend. The Lopes return to AZ Ice Arcadia to host Montana State University on October 16 and 17, with Friday's puck drop scheduled for 7:45PM.