From GCU Hockey
Kasabowski’s 50-save effort not enough to stop No. 2 Minot State
“We were on a roll at the end of the fall semester,” said Lopes’ Head Coach Danny Roy. “The winter break slumped us into a little bit of a rut.”
Following a three-week absence from hockey due to the holiday break, the Grand Canyon University Men’s Ice Hockey team watched No. 2 Minot State University take control of a close contest down the stretch to down the Lopes, 4-0, Thursday night at AZ Ice Arcadia. The loss dropped GCU to a 5-11 overall record.
The Lopes held MSU in check early. Although GCU was struggling to produce on the offensive end, Lopes’ goalkeeper Scott Kasaboski collected 21 of his 50 total saves in a scoreless first period.
“Kasaboski has been one of our most consistent players this season,” said Roy. “Even so, we can’t keep relying so heavily on his performance to win games going forward.”
An early Lopes’ penalty in the second period led to a power-play goal for MSU’s Carter Barley. Barley scored the Beavers’ next two goals (all assisted by Eric Soar) for a “hat trick”, his last one putting the game out of reach five minutes into the third period.
“We came out with a strong effort in the first quarter,” said Roy. “After that, though, we stopped committing to our game plan, and began trying to play to our opponent’s style instead of our own.”
Next, the Lopes will play back-to-back home games against Jamestown University on January 12 and University of Arizona on January 13. Puck drop both nights is 6:30pm at AZ Ice Arcadia.
(Originally published at https://clubsports.gcu.edu/gcu-mens-hockey-shut-out-in-first-game-of-2022/)
