The Oregon club ice hockey team’s return from winter break was a rude one.
The No. 10 Ducks, currently in first place in the Pac-8 conference, lost their three non-league contests against No. 1 Colorado, No. 6 Colorado State and No. 4 Denver over the weekend.
“I think we can take away that there’s some really good talent out there and we have to pick it up if we want to compete against these teams,” said Oregon coach Scott McCallum.
The Ducks lost to three teams who all competed in last season’s American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament.
“These are the best teams I’ve ever seen in the league,” McCallum said.
Oregon began the three-game weekend on Friday in Boulder, Colo., a game they lost to the physical Buffaloes 6-2 despite power play goals by Matt Lutsch and Cam Forni. Justin Lacasse and Tom Stocklin assisted on Lutsch’s first-period goal that tied up the game, while Forni’s unassisted score was too little, too late in the third period.
Saturday’s game featured a new opponent and a new venue, but the same result. Playing in Fort Collins, Colo., the Ducks lost 5-2 to the CSU Rams, who were “probably the dirtiest team we’ll play all year” according to Gibb. Both teams racked up a combined 50 penalties in the game, one the players felt was a much better performance than Friday’s.
“I think we played a lot better Saturday, we were a lot more comfortable,” Gibb said. The Rams were up two goals within the first 10 minutes before Forni responded with a goal, assisted by new player Joel Dunham. Tyler McCarty added the next goal on an assist by Cal Brackin and Lane Community College transfer Zack Hicks, momentarily making the game a one-goal affair. Two goals by the Rams in the third period ended the Ducks’ upset bid, however.
The Denver Pioneers blew out the Ducks’ in their final game on Sunday, winning 10-2 after putting McCallum’s squad in a 4-0 hole in the first period.
Tyler McCarty put the Ducks on the scoreboard with assists by linemates Brackin and Hicks. A minute later, new addition Dunham scored on the power play. Forni and Gibb assisted. The Ducks wouldn’t score again, ending a frustrating weekend. The team will next play the Portland State Vikings on Jan. 18 and 19 in Portland.
McCallum was encouraged by the play of his two newest additions, Hicks and Dunham. It was Dunham’s first game for the Ducks since he played last season for a trimester.
“We knew about Joel Dunham and for Joel he definitely helped on the offensive side,” McCallum said. “Zach we didn’t really know a whole lot about, but he’s sort of a tenacious, hardworking player.”
As for the Ducks’ preseason goals of advancing to the national tournament?
“We’re not really there yet,” McCallum said.
Women’s rugby beats Huskies at home
Oregon’s rugby team shutout its first opponent of the new year, beating Washington 56-0 on Jan. 12 at Riverfront Field in Eugene. The team treated the game as a developmental opportunity, with new players getting the chance to play new positions in the win.
“We had some new, young kids do some really, really good things,” said club coordinator Kara Winek. “It was just really nice to come back after break, get off all the rust and get the cobwebs out.”
Siche Mitchell and Jenna Sessions each scored two tries on the afternoon. Rachel Newton scored on her first-ever career try.
The Dirty Ducks will next play in the Stanford Invitational tournament held in Palo Alto, Calif., next weekend.
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