Thomas Manzella III and Dillon Kuntz warm up before Friday’s series opener at Grand Canyon. (UNLV Rebel Hockey)
Liam Choquette moved across his crease to keep the game tied. Luke Backel broke away in the other direction and put UNLV ahead.
That sequence decided Saturday’s 2-1 win at Grand Canyon, but the Rebels still had more than a period to make it stand. They blocked shots on the penalty kill, pressured the Lopes along the boards and survived a penalty shot to finish the weekend sweep at AZ Ice Peoria.
UNLV improved to 6-0 after winning two games that demanded different things. Friday brought eight goals, including five in the third period. Saturday brought a deficit, repeated stops from Grand Canyon goaltender Hunter Hein and a final period spent protecting a one-goal lead.
Dylan Gordon helped erase that deficit with a goal and an assist. Choquette supplied the stop that preceded Backel’s winner, then held Grand Canyon scoreless through the third.
The Rebels had opportunities to give him more room. During four consecutive minutes of second-period power-play time, they moved the puck across Hein’s crease for Shaun Rios and Easton Edwards. Rios had successive chances turned away, including a backhand attempt. Edwards later received a pass across the ice and put his shot into Hein’s shoulder.
Hein kept UNLV from taking the lead during Luke Lavery’s two minor penalties. The Rebels were finding teammates near the crease and forcing him to move across his net, but they couldn’t finish those opportunities.
Backel finished his once play returned to even strength.
Grand Canyon threatened on a wraparound at the opposite end, forcing Choquette across to deny the attempt. The puck went back up ice, Backel got behind the Lopes and scored with 2:32 left in the second period. Ryder McIntosh and Gordon earned the assists.
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It was the second time that period UNLV turned a defensive play into a goal. Before Gordon tied the game at 3:17, he knocked Micahlind Pelletier off the puck near the blue line, then joined the attack and reached the slot to finish a feed from Edwards.
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Those two goals overturned the lead Michael Schwartz had given Grand Canyon late in the first period. Schwartz carried the puck into the offensive zone and finished on his backhand, putting the Lopes ahead after they had allowed the first three goals Friday.
UNLV’s response gave Choquette a lead to defend, though its penalties kept creating opportunities for Grand Canyon.
Charles Masek’s tripping minor carried into the third period. Choquette stopped Lavery’s shot from the half wall before the Rebels returned to full strength. When Rios went off for tripping a few minutes later, Mason Kelly blocked attempts during the ensuing kill, and UNLV repeatedly sent the puck out of its zone.
The Lopes’ best chance to bypass those defenders came with 12:01 remaining. Lavery broke in alone and was awarded a penalty shot. He approached from the left and tried to bring the puck toward the middle on his forehand, but lost control before getting a shot away.
Grand Canyon received another power play shortly afterward when Hayden Siegel went off for slashing. UNLV pressured the puck along the wall and forced the Lopes to retrieve it down the ice. Andrej Kovacevic’s tripping penalty ended Grand Canyon’s advantage one minute into the opportunity.
The Rebels also got a timely block at even strength. Maddox Depasquale found Evan Leden in the slot, but Asher Wites intercepted the shot before it reached Choquette. Lavery later got a turnaround attempt through, and Choquette turned it away with his blocker.
Grand Canyon remained one finish from tying the game, but Nash Jacobsma’s high-sticking penalty with 3:26 left consumed two minutes of its remaining time. Hein stopped Edwards and Deven Nagra during UNLV’s power play to preserve the Lopes’ chance.
Grand Canyon eventually pulled Hein and had an offensive-zone faceoff with 28 seconds remaining. UNLV called timeout before the draw, then tied up the puck along the boards and forced the Lopes to work it across the ice. Owen Hanson had possession in the closing seconds, but Grand Canyon never got the tying shot away.
Sources: Official ACHA box score and GCU game broadcast.
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