The Oregon club hockey team is gearing up for the season’s last road trip: Bellingham, Wash., where it faces off against Western Washington this weekend.
“It doesn’t feel good, but we’re concentrating on the PAC-8 right now,” forward Nathan Vogel said. “We’re looking to just stay physical.”
The Ducks are licking wounds from last weekend’s tough games and hurting from rough losses at home against Washington, Oregon captain Tyler Shaffar said, but most of the players will hit the ice this weekend despite a long list of injuries.
Last time the Ducks played the Vikings — at home in November — they split.
“I have no doubt that we are a better team,” Shaffar said. “Man-for-man, we’ll easily beat Western. But people have to pick it up.”
A problem for the ailing Ducks and a fact that contributes to their losing record this season is their reliance on the top three or four players, Shaffar said. “We got to produce all around. We can’t go scoreless.”
In particular, Shaffar said he is hoping to see good hockey from Jack Hendrickson and Scott Tedrick.
“They need some confidence,” Shaffar said, adding that both Hendrickson and Tedrick are hard workers. “And that’s the bottom line when we go into the championships.”
While the outcome of these games won’t change much for the Ducks’ record, and the national championships are nowhere in sight for Oregon, it would be nice to have two wins going into the PAC-8 championships, Shaffar said.
“A key word is ‘pride,’” he added. “It’s a matter of people giving 100 percent going at it. People are paying to watch.”