As if facing the 3^rd-ranked team in the nation wasn't daunting enough, the Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey team outlasted multiple rink issues to earn a split of its two-game series with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The Lopes used a 2^nd-period barrage to down the Rebels, 5-2, Thursday night at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix before settling for a 1-1 week with a 5-2 loss Friday night at AZ Ice Gilbert. The Thursday win was only the second time in 24 lifetime meetings that the Lopes had prevailed in the series, and kept the 13^th-ranked Lopes (19-7 overall, 14-5 WCHL) in line to clinch their 3^rd straight trip to the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Championships next month. For the Rebels (22-6 overall, 13-1 WCHL), Thursday's loss was their first all season in Western Collegiate Hockey League play.

Thursday: GCU 5, UNLV 2

8:05PM was the target for the puck drop, and all seemed on track – that is, until the attention at the end of warmups was directed to the east end of the rink, where a stanchion between two of the protective panes surrounding the rink came loose. That caused a 25-minute delay to allow officials time to secure it and ensure that conditions were safe to proceed. Once the puck dropped, the Lopes – fresh off a rejuvenating road sweep of 17^th-ranked University of Arizona last weekend – took the momentum and rarely lost it. The teams fired a total of 19 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes, but the only one to find the mark was Owen Lugowski's rebound shot with 6:40 left in the frame to give the Lopes a 1-0 lead. The Rebels are known for their quick responses, but tonight, that never came. The Lopes held the Rebels' offense in check for the first 35 minutes of play, and in doing so, built a 3-0 edge on Colby Jaquet's and Ben Oakland's scores midway through the 2^nd period. Once UNLV got on the scoreboard with 4:20 left, the Lopes didn't wait long to swing the momentum back as Evan Leden sent the Lopes to the 2^nd intermission with a goal with 1:07 left. Again, the response was never there for the Rebels, who didn't find the net again until 90 seconds remained in the game, and even then, Oakland punctuated the win just a minute later with an empty-netter.

Oakland added two assists to his pair of goals, while Caden Henrikson and Jack Thomas had two assists each. Lopes' goalie Dmytro Kubrytskyi earned the victory with 28 saves, while the Rebels' top netminder, Doug Wakelyn, allowed four goals for only the 3^rd time all season in the loss.

Friday: UNLV 5, GCU 3

The Lopes and Rebels only thought the pane situation was the biggest equipment hurdle they'd face – that is, until they found out shortly before warmups for the 7PM game that the Zamboni – the machine that resurfaces the ice during pregame and intermissions – broke down at AZ Ice Arcadia, rendering conditions unplayable for college hockey. Enter AZ Ice Gilbert, which the teams hastily made the 45-minute trek from arena to arena to get the game in at 8PM. Once on clean ice, the Rebels got back into revenge mode, scoring the lone goal of Period No. 1 just six minutes in. After just eight 1^st period shots, the Lopes' Thomas Kayner finally neutralized it three minutes into the second frame, and for the next nine minutes, defense reigned supreme. Then the offenses exploded in the final eight minutes, with the Rebels cashing in a power-play to take the lead back; and GCU's Tommy Wardas and Triston Tabucol setting up Dylan Thompson's first goal of the season to help the Lopes tie it 90 seconds later. The final explosion was quick and painful for GCU as UNLV's Luke Backel scored twice in an 18-second span to give the Rebels the 4-2 lead heading to the 3^rd period. Kayner's 2^nd goal of the evening cut UNLV's lead to a single score two minutes into the final period, but the Lopes were stymied from there, and an empty-netter for the Rebels in the final minute finished things off. Wakelyn rebounded from the Thursday loss to stop 24 Lopes' shots, while Kubrytskyi's 31 saves weren't enough in the Lopes' net to avoid the split.

The Lopes' home schedule is now down to two single games over the next two weekends, and each one is against their intrastate rivals. The first of those happens Thursday, February 12 as the Lopes host the University of Arizona in a 7:05PM puck drop at AZ Ice Arcadia. Game tickets are available on the GCU Club Sports website.