The Oregon club sports hockey team returned from a Utah road trip with deflated morals and two slapping losses in its bags.
Last Friday’s highly physical and, at times, brawl-filled game against Weber State netted a 5-1 loss for the Ducks.
Add fatigue, repeat Friday’s performance and double the score: Saturday’s game left Oregon with a 10-2 loss against Utah.
“They were two different games,” Oregon captain Tyler Shaffar said.
On Friday, Weber State had more shots and more opportunities than the Ducks, and were also faster and deeper. As the game went on, the scuffles and scrimmages produced a brutal game, netting more than 200 minutes of penalties — a new Oregon penalty record.
On a brighter note, Josh Hardin blocked more than 40 shots and posted Oregon’s strongest performance this weekend.
“He’s the only reason we were in the game,” Shaffar said.
Oregon scored first Saturday on a power play and when Oregon srikes first it usually wins.
But this was different. The Utes made it 1-1 by the end of the first period. After the second period, the Ducks were down 6-1.
Oregon pulled Hardin to let Joe Fagliano, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation, tend the goal. Even after letting in four to end the game for a score of 10-2, Fagliano is still in the top-10.
With such a difficult schedule looming ahead of it, Oregon could easily just throw in the towel.
“Nobody’s giving up,” Shaffar said. “People are still excited about practice.”
Oregon plays on home ice this weekend against USC, ranked No. 4 in the West. It then faces rival Washington in early Feb., which leads into the PAC-8 Championships at home Feb. 16-19.
“Bottom line, the number one goal is to win the PAC-8 in Eugene,” Shaffar said. “We need to focus and re-tune.”