The Ducks felt anything but doomed to repeat history heading into the 2006-07 Pac-8 Tournament.
But when it was all said and done, that’s exactly what they did.
Second-seeded Oregon (23-4, 13-3 Pac-8), riding the momentum of a seven-game winning streak to conclude its regular season, defeated the third-seeded UCLA Bruins 6-4 on Friday night in the first round at the Toyota Center in El Segundo, Calif. That created a historic championship match-up between Oregon and top-seeded USC on Saturday.
Oregon’s weekend victory against the Bruins in an arena filled with gold and powder blue marked the third time the Ducks beat them this year. The Ducks swept UCLA in November (5-3, 6-2) at the very same venue.
Coach Scott McCallum said Friday’s game was much more nerve-wracking, though. The contest was plagued by penalty calls in the first period, so much so that the referees had to stop play and sort them all out.
“With two minutes left the penalty box was so full that they decided to resurface the ice rather than finish out the period to try and figure out what to do,” McCallum said.
History continued to repeat itself Saturday in the final, where USC, which knocked off fourth-seeded Arizona State 5-2 in the semifinals, defeated Oregon 4-3 in sudden-death overtime.
Last season, Oregon also lost to USC in overtime of the championship game, which was played in Eugene.
The score of that match? 4-3.
“I was telling them that this game isn’t going to end at 3-2 so be ready,” McCallum said of the loss to the Trojans. “We didn’t anticipate losing 4-3 again though.”
Oregon, which split the season series against USC in Eugene with a pair of one-point games, could only watch as the Trojans dog-pilled in front of their goal after Jason Filantres sent in that fourth goal with only 45 seconds remaining in overtime. McCallum said the puck actually deflected off a player’s back side, bouncing past the crease and down into the corner of the net.
“That was just one of those fluke things that happens with a bunch of players bunched up and with one small puck,” McCallum said.
Despite the disappointment, Oregon received encouraging performances from junior Cameron Forni, junior Eric Steinmann and freshman goalkeeper Elliot Harvey.
Forni scored four total goals in the tournament, including a hat trick against UCLA and a goal against USC with 8:13 remaining in the third period to give Oregon a 3-2 lead. Two of his three goals on Friday gave Oregon leads and one of those goals, which came late in regulation play, pushed the Ducks in front 5-4 and ultimately propelled them into the final game against USC.
“We started clicking in the end and pulled it out in the last couple minutes,” Forni said of his team’s performance against the Bruins in a broadcast interview.
Harvey gave both UCLA and USC headaches, shutting down the Bruins’ attempts to cash in on penalties and denying both on numerous offensive attacks. With a minute to go in an intense third period against USC, he trapped a crafty shot with his pads that temporarily denied the Trojans’ hopes of tying the score.
“He has been one of my best friends and he can just play amazing,” sophomore defenseman Colton Clay said. “He came up big.”
Against USC, Steinmann notched two goals, both converted off freshman Sam Cehula’s assists. USC’s Ryan Seals matched Steinmann’s offensive output with two goals of his own.
Steinmann, along with sophomore Jeff Gibb, were named First-Team All Pac-8 after the tournament. Junior Matt Lutsch received Second-Team honors and senior Mike Hideghety earned Honorable Mention.
Cyril Allen, head coach at California and 2002-03 Pac-8 Coach of the Year, said in a broadcast interview that Oregon is very deep and solid in most positions.
“There is a lot of talent on that team and I’ve been getting (this) same question a lot: How good is this team?” Allen said.
Oregon will get at least one more chance to answer that question, and may still be able to make history. The Ducks travel to Logan, Utah, Friday for a battle as the ninth seed against fourth-seeded San Jose State in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s West Regional Tournament.
“It is good to know were not done,” McCallum said. “We want to work on our power play and penalty kill now because we know we have another opportunity to prove ourselves.”