Playing without team captain Mike Tornabene and starting defenseman Mike Boggs, the Club Hockey team scraped together a win and a tie this weekend in a series the Ducks admit they may have taken a bit too easily.
“We played horrible,” senior forward and club coordinator Justin Keeland said of the Ducks’ 3-3 home tie Friday night against the College of the Canyons. “We took them a little lightly … and deserved to lose.”
The Ducks (5-1-0, Pacific-8) will finish the regular season without Tornabene as he is attending an ambassadorship program in Russia. Roley, one of the team’s most experienced defenseman, sat out the non-league game with an unspecified injury.
The Ducks rebounded Saturday night against the community college from Santa Clarita, Calif., by shutting the Cougars out 3-0 in the second game of the series.
“We let Friday get away from us,” Keeland said, noting that the Ducks brought a greater sense of urgency to the ice following the tie.
Junior forward Jeff Knebel opened the game up with a goal at the 2:47 mark of the first period, and Oregon never looked back. Knebel added another goal in the second, and junior forward Justin Savich also scored, sealing the Duck win.
“Communication was really good,” said freshman goalie Matt Nuernberg. “After Friday’s game, we knew they were legit.
“The defense helped out. They picked out guys in the front.”
Nuernberg blocked all 40 shots from the Cougars in his first shutout of the season.
According to Keeland, it was Nuernberg’s play that kept the Ducks in the game in their sloppy Friday night performance.
“Matt (Nuernberg) has been playing excellent all year,” Keeland said.
Oregon took an early lead in the first game on goals by senior forward Ryan Jones and freshman forward Cal Brackin. The Cougars responded with a late goal to make the game 2-1 Ducks going into the first intermission.
College of the Canyons then took advantage of the Ducks’ lethargic play, scoring two goals in the second period.
“We came out a little flat,” Nuernberg said.
Assistant captain Ted Martin saved the Ducks from a potentially embarrassing loss with a game-tying goal 12 seconds before the end of the third period. The Ducks and Cougars both went scoreless in the five-minute overtime.
“Those were the best five minutes of the game for us,” Keeland said.
College of the Canyons outshot the Ducks 44-41 in the series opener, with Nuernberg blocking 41.
The weekend earned the No. 10 Ducks three points in the American Collegiate Hockey Association standings and upped their record
to 8-0-2.
Oregon resumes Pac-8 play this weekend with a crucial matchup against No. 11 UCLA. The Bruins are tied with the Ducks for second place behind Cal in the Pac-8.
“This weekend is huge for placement rankings,” said Keeland. “If we win, we’re actually a decent team.”
A win would put the Ducks alone in second place with less than half the season left to play.
“First place is (still) up for grabs,” Nuernberg said, expecting his team to pick up the level of play for the battle against the Bruins Nov. 19 and 20.

Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald