San Diego State University opened its American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) season on Sept. 19 at the Kroc Center, with the night belonging to No. 12 Grand Canyon University, which handed the Aztecs a lopsided 12–1 defeat.
The tone was set early when GCU forward Owen Hanson buried the first goal just 6:17 into the opening period. Hanson wasn’t done there as he went on to record a hat trick, igniting an Antelope attack that poured on the offense and never let up in a dominant showing.
As the score climbed, so did the intensity. The matchup turned into a bruising, high-energy battle filled with heavy hits that led to rising tempers. By the final whistle, officials had handed out 22 penalties, including four misconducts, underscoring the chippy and emotional nature of the season opener.
For SDSU, the lone offensive highlight came from forward Brandon Grant, who broke through with the team’s only goal of the night. Freshman Mason Lambert, making his ACHA debut and picking up his first career assist, admitted the opener was rough but took positives from the team’s toughness.
“Tough loss, but super physical. We had guys all over the place,” Lambert said. “I think the boys just have to work a little harder, get some wins and once we get going, we can find our identity as a team.”
There was little time for the Aztecs to dwell on the loss. Less than 24 hours later, they returned to the Kroc Center on Sept. 20 for a rematch with Grand Canyon, providing an opportunity to test their resilience and seek an early-season response.
In the final game of the two-game opening series, the No. 12 Grand Canyon University Lopes (1-0-0) defeated the San Diego Aztecs (0-1-0) by a score of 8-0.
“I think we have what it takes to compete,” assistant captain Brandon Grant said. “I mean, obviously, they’re a great team, especially offensively and they will take advantage of every breakdown that we have, and they did.”
GCU spoiled the Aztecs’ season opener the previous night with a dominant 12-1 as their special teams made the difference with an effective 4/7 power play. Forward Owen Hanson, captain of the Lopes, netted a hat trick in the midst of a four-point night, while Grant was the lone Aztec to find the back of the net.
Hanson continued his dominant performance over the Aztecs as he scored his fourth goal of the series to open the scoring 8:19 into the first period.
SDSU’s poor discipline from the opening game carried over into the second game, with defenseman Zach Casinghino getting called for a hooking penalty as the Scarlet and Black had to face a deadly GCU power play.
“I think one of the things that we’ve got to really work on right now is finding that level of grit that we’re missing,” assistant coach Jason Galea said.
With a second left on the power play and three minutes left in the period, GCU forward Thomas Kayner slammed home a rebound to double the lead for the Lopes. Forward Evan Leden was credited with the secondary assist to get his first point in his first career ACHA game.
Grand Canyon kept the pressure going, keeping the Aztecs in their own zone, but Hsiao kept the puck out of the net. The Scarlet and Black kept the deficit to 2-0 going into intermission and the game was competitive, but needed to do some work as they were outshot 17-6.
After the puck jetted out to center ice, Leden continued his strong debut as he sped past the Aztec defense and scored his first career goal on a breakaway to give GCU a 3-0 lead.
Midway through the second period, the Lopes swapped goalies, with Hunter Hein entering the game for Demoranville.
The Aztecs were given their first power play of the game after defenseman Heck Stephenson was interfered with and thrown to the ice in front of his own net.
With five seconds left on the power play, GCU was called for a too-many-men penalty, giving the Scarlet and Black a brief two-man advantage. The Aztecs struggled to find their footing, as although they had chances, they could not sustain the pressure or score a goal.
After 40 minutes of play, the Aztecs found themselves down 3-0, but in a much better spot compared to the previous game, where they were down 9-1 after two.
The third period proved to be a disastrous period for the Aztecs as they lost the competitiveness they had in the first two periods. In a defensive collapse, SDSU allowed five goals in the period, marking the second game in a row in which they have conceded five or more goals in a period.
“I think what we need to basically learn is that we need to keep our foot on the gas the entire game,” Galea said. “I think that some of us hopped on the bench, onto the ice in that third period and wanted to play safe and when you play safe, you allow them to punch you in the face.”
Hanson and Leden both scored goals off tips two minutes apart to make it quickly go from a 3-0 lead to 5-0. GCU forward Michael Schwartz made it 6-0 on a forehand-backhand move that put the puck past Hsiao for his third goal of the weekend.
If the Aztec defense were able to see nightmares, it would be Hanson, as he scored again to make it two straight games where he scored three goals. Leden scored the eighth and final goal of the game for GCU to complete the hat trick in his remarkable ACHA debut.
With the final buzzer, the Lopes completed the sweep over the Aztecs, where they outscored the Scarlet and Black by a combined 20-1. GCU improves its record to 2-0-0, while SDSU drops to 0-2-0.
San Diego State’s next two-game series comes at home against the No. 13 University of Arizona Wildcats, with the first game on Oct. 3 with a 7:30 p.m. puck drop and the second on Oct. 4 starting at 8:30 p.m. Both games will be at the Kroc Center Ice Arena.
