The Oregon club hockey team (14-2 Pac-8 Conference) took to the road last weekend for a showdown with Eastern Washington in non-conference play. Before the puck dropped on Friday night, the No. 3 Eagles had only lost one game at home. By Saturday morning, that number had doubled.
Oregon earned a 2-0 shutout to open play. Matt Hanlon and Cam Forni netted the goals for the Ducks. Oregon abandoned its traditional forechecking system, opting for a style geared more toward trapping.
“The trap can slow down a speedy team, and it takes away the center of the ice,” Oregon head coach Scott McCallum said.
In the Ducks’ new system, goals came from intercepting cross ice passes and converting for a score. Oregon was committed to a more defensive system and notched a win on only two goals.
“It was a team win, everybody bought into the system,” junior Tom Stocklin said. “They had more depth, but we worked our game plan to perfection.”
Eastern Washington put more shots on the frame, but Oregon goalie Wren Arbuthnot led his team’s effort on the ice.
“I picked up the puck very well, but my guys bailed me out when I needed help,” Arbuthnot said.
But the bigger, more physical Eagles rebounded on Saturday, winning with a final score of 4-3. Trailing 2-0, the Ducks scored a quick pair of goals from Kevin Trihey and Justin Lacasse to tie the game. Momentum was in Oregon’s favor, but a kicked puck beat Arbuthnot between the pipes, handing the reigns back to Eastern Washington.
The Ducks fought back, and Tom Stocklin found the back of the net in the last 40 seconds of play, but with just seconds left, Forni’s backhanded shot was knocked away.
Despite coming away with the win on Saturday, Eastern Washington still appeared irked by Friday’s loss.
“They got frustrated, and the game got very physical,” McCallum said. “A lot of (Eastern Washington’s) guys played in Canadian leagues, which are more physical and allow fighting.”
And fight they did. Four different EWU players were disqualified from play over the course of two games with Oregon. All four players will be suspended from play for at least one game.
“Maybe Eastern is a different place, but we need every player every game,” McCallum said. “We maintained our composure because we want to play; a lot of our guys only have a few games left.”
The Ducks departed Washington with a 1-1 record for the second consecutive weekend.
Previously, Oregon split with the Washington Huskies but dropped the I-5 Cup in a shootout. More than just the shootout loss elevated last weekend’s accomplishment above the magnitude of the UW series.
“It was an amazing weekend,” Stocklin confirmed. “We have a great team, but they have more depth; we don’t win that game unless everyone buys into the system.”
Eastern’s depth disappeared with the multitude of suspensions handed out last weekend. This makes EWU’s tussle with UW next weekend all the more interesting for Oregon. If Washington can earn a win, Oregon’s chances of making regionals improve.
Oregon gets a week off from competition before taking on Portland State at Lane County Ice in Eugene. The following week, the Ducks enter the Pac-8 Tournament in Anaheim, Calif. as the No. 1 seed.
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