The season-opening weekend for Oregon’s club ice hockey team was a rough one, as host Arizona State beat the Ducks in a two-game sweep in Tempe, Ariz.
The Ducks followed their 5-4 overtime loss on Friday night with a 4-1 defeat on Saturday. For the Oregon players, the defeats were a result of the combination of little practice time and sub-par conditioning.
It also didn’t help that the Ducks have practiced for three weeks less than the Sun Devils, who finished last season the third-place team in the Pac-8 Conference.
“It looked pretty clear that they’ve been practicing for a month,” said team coordinator and captain Jeff Gibb. “They’re a lot more crisper than us and I think that was a big factor in the game.”
In game 1, the Ducks jumped out to a quick lead halfway through the first period on a goal by junior forward Cam Forni, who also had two assists on the night. Another goal, this time by junior forward Tom Stocklin, added to the Ducks’ brief lead.
Arizona State stormed back into the lead with four unanswered goals, three of which came in the second period.
But just as the game looked to be lost, two goals by Gibb and Stocklin, his second of the night, knotted the score at four apiece with six minutes left in the game.
After a disallowed goal by Oregon’s Cal Brackin late in the third period – the team’s second of the night – the teams went to sudden-death overtime. ASU captain Bryan Hill scored only two minutes in, however, ending the game.
Eric Steinmann added two assists for the Ducks in the first game, but wasn’t pleased.
“We did okay, but I thought we were very unorganized in terms of our system,” said Steinmann. “We probably could have stepped it up, but the new guys played well I thought.”
The Ducks’ loss on Saturday wasn’t nearly as close, however.
A second-period power-play goal by Oregon’s Colton Clay tied the game, but it was as much offense as the Ducks would get on the afternoon, with ASU adding two insurance goals in the third period to ice the win.
The losses haven’t sat well with the Ducks.
“I think this is the first time we’ve been swept in my three years at Oregon,” said Gibb.
Despite the disappointment in Arizona, Oregon’s players aren’t worried about the rest of the season. The team’s prescription is simple: More time on the ice together, more wins.
“Just play together. We haven’t played together at all,” said Steinmann.
Gibb, meanwhile, is looking ahead to the team’s next contests, as the Ducks host Washington State and UCLA on Oct. 12 and 13 at the Lane County Ice Arena.
Washington State dropped its game this weekend to Cal in Pullman, losing 5-4.
“It’s going to be a lot better to get another weekend of practice in,” said Gibb. “We’re fine, we just need to tighten the ropes and we’ll come out fighting Friday night.”
“Like coach (Scott McCallum) said, this is a positive thing, because it’s better to have two losses now than in January.”
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