October 27, 2018
UNLV’s attack keeps Lopes off the scoreboard
By Jesse Vineyard/GCU Staff

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – It wasn’t supposed to be the full gameplan, but the Lopes were up to the task anyways. Unfortunately, they could never find the back of the net to make their defensive effort worth it.

Facing their highest-ranked Division I opponent ever, Grand Canyon University Men’s Ice Hockey faced a continuous wave of offense from No. 10 University of Nevada-Las Vegas. The Lopes stood firm, but ultimately fell, 4-0, Friday night at City National Arena in Las Vegas.

A 17-4 shot advantage in the first period in favor of UNLV set the tone for what GCU would be facing all night. From the drop of the puck, the majority of the game would be played in GCU’s zone. Any attempt to clear the puck was met by a UNLV stick at the blue line to keep the Rebels offense going, and any zone clear that was successful was quickly returned for another UNLV rush.

Even with an onslaught of grey jerseys coming up ice, the Lopes made every shot a difficult one for the Rebels. Many shots on net were either one and done with the GCU defense clearing the puck away from the slot, or contested shots with bodies and sticks in the shooting lanes. None of it was able to lead to extended offensive zone time for the Lopes, but it gave the team enough reason for optimism heading into Saturday night’s contest.

“We know when we get the puck, we are going to get something,” Lopes Head Coach Danny Roy said. “If we get a clean rush or a clean break, we will get something. Otherwise, it’s just going to be a matter of preventing them from getting their own clean rush and forcing them to go 200 feet.”

UNLV’s Jared Turcotte opened the scoring in the first period with a power play goal midway through the opening period. More GCU defense kept the game at 1-0 going into the first intermission, until six minutes into the second period when John Moeller pounced on a turnover at the blue line to give the Rebels a 2-0 lead.

The Lopes still had a comeback within reach as the score would stand heading into the third period, but UNLV’s Joe Kaszupski quickly dampened the mood with a goal 51 seconds into the third period. Limited chances came to GCU throughout the period – recording just three shots in the third – but it all was too little, too late as the Rebels added another goal from Bryce Woodward with under three minutes remaining to officially seal the win.

Sophomore goaltender Michael Barabash made 29 saves from 33 shots on net in the loss. GCU finished with 11 shots on net. The Lopes went 0-for-4 on the power play, the first game this season in which GCU failed to score on the man advantage.

Following the game, Roy looked back at last year’s matchups with another DI opponent – University of Arizona – as a similar situation. Playing against a bigger, skilled opponent, the Lopes were expecting a game in which they had to wait for their own chances, much like against the Wildcats. With top-ranked UNLV on the docket one more time, Roy hopes the experience gained can mean a different result.

“(Arizona) more than out-matched us last year,” Roy said. “This is not a team that we’re just going to run and gun against. Knowing that, we will have to wait for our chances, capitalize on any chance we get and play well defensively.”

The Lopes and Rebels finish off their two-game set Saturday night at 7:30 pm. GCU returns home to AZ Ice Arcadia next Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, to play Northern Arizona University at 6:30 pm both nights.

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Location

city national arena