By David Carter/GCU Staff

Despite marked improvements from a week ago, the GCU Men’s Ice Hockey team’s late rally fell short Friday night against Brigham Young University as they fell, 2-1, to the Cougars in front of a packed house at AZ Ice Arcadia in Phoenix.

GCU outshot BYU, 15-10, in the first period, but the game remained scoreless until BYU broke through with a Hugh Blum goal with 1:34 left in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Once again, the two defenses reigned over the offense deep into the third period until the Cougars’ Chandler Cattelain added an insurance goal with 4:51 left in the game.

However, GCU quickly rebounded and scored just 24 seconds later with a shot from point-blank range. However, the Cougars’ defense stiffened again to stymie the Lopes from there to send GCU to its 5th straight loss.

Despite the loss, GCU Men’s Ice Hockey Coach Danny Roy discussed the improvements he saw.

“We looked a lot better all around,” said Roy. “It was a good competitive game. We know what to expect out of BYU.”

Roy still wants to see more self-control from his charges.

“(There’s) just a couple of undisciplined things,” Roy pointed out. “(We’re) arguing with referees about stuff that is out of our control, which then takes the momentum away when we were only down 1-0.”

Roy does see a change in outlook for the better, though.

“We have tried to get guys to rally behind each other instead of focusing on the individual stuff and themselves,” Roy said. “I think it kind of slipped in there and worked, and I think that is the positive to take out of this.”

The Lopes will next travel to Utah for the Beehive Showcase November 15 through November 18.

Location

az ice arcadia