Five shootout rounds. Nine misses. One goal.

Grand Canyon University D1 Men's Hockey's first win of the 2026-27 season came down to the wire multiple times Thursday night in Tucson until GCU freshman Jack Edwards' goal finally decided a five-round shootout to give the Lopes a 4-3 win over the University of Arizona. After a slow start, Lopes' freshman goalie Ryan Kerr stopped every Arizona shooter he faced throughout the final 30 minutes of regulation and overtime, then stoned all five Wildcats' shooters in the shootout. The victory evens the Lopes' record (1-1 overall, 0-0 WCHL) after a season-opening loss to the University of Mary last weekend.

The normally high-powered Lopes aren't used to getting outshot by large margins, but the Wildcats tested Kerr and the GCU defense over and over, outshooting the team in purple on the night, 44-25. The key to the Lopes' comeback? Power plays and Kerr's stonewalling. The Lopes owned an early 1-0 lead after GCU graduate student Tommy Wardas finished a feed from junior Ricky Nelson six minutes into the game, but then the Lopes went cold. A UA power play in the final minute of the opening frame sent the teams to the locker rooms tied, then the Wildcats took control with a pair of 2^nd-period scores.

Trailing, 3-1, early in the 3^rd, GCU's offense awakened after Arizona was whistled for two penalties less than a minute apart, cashing in on the two-man advantage with junior captain Owen Hanson (on assists from Edwards and Nash Jacobsma) cutting the lead to 3-2 at the 4:13 mark. Four minutes later, with another Wildcat in the penalty box, Hanson returned the favor by setting up sophomore Evan Leden for the equalizer with 11:30 left in regulation. From there, Kerr slammed the door, stopping all nine Arizona shots in the third period en route to 41 saves on the night.

Neither team broke through in the five-minute overtime – despite the puck staying in GCU's possession for all but the final 45 seconds of the period. GCU shot first in each round of the shootout – meaning Kerr had to match every Lopes' miss with a stop of his own. Kerr and UA goalie Hadyn Gould matched each other stride for stride through the first four rounds before Edwards finally broke through in the fifth round, and Kerr stopped UA's Riley Fast to seal the win.

The Lopes stay on the road next weekend for a two-game non-conference series against the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. GCU then returns home to open Western Collegiate Hockey League play in a rematch with Arizona on Saturday, October 10, with puck drop at AZ Ice Arcadia scheduled for 7:15PM.