Statistically, USC had the best odds of winning the PAC 8 Championship.
When stats accompany confidence and smart play on the ice, and depth is used wisely and without remorse, mathematics work in your favor: USC hauled home the 2001 PAC 8 Championship trophy after beating Washington 4-2 Saturday.
This was Washington’s first appearance in the PAC 8 tournament, and the Huskies returned to Seattle with second place.
“I’m really glad [the Huskies] were here,” Oregon captain Tyler Shaffar said.
However, the Ducks didn’t fare as well, finishing fourth in the four-team tournament.
“We were not playing with our hearts,” Shaffar said, adding that he has never experienced his team more quiet than after suffering a 10-0 shutout in Friday’s game against USC, which sent the Ducks playing for third place.
Opening against the Trojans, Oregon dominated the ice in front of a large and excited home crowd all through the first period.
“We were 22 minutes from beating USC on home ice and making finals,” Shaffar said.
Although the Trojans beat Oregon 10-0, the Ducks played like they could have pulled off a victory until six minutes were left in the second period.
“After letting in three goals in the second period, we stopped playing hockey,” Shaffar said.
Oregon goalie Josh Hardin agreed: “We died with six minutes left.”
The third period hiked the score up to 10 for the Trojans.
“We deflated,” Shaffar said.
“Scoring on USC first would have been huge,” Hardin said, alluding to the better games the Ducks usually have when they score the first goal.
Looking back at the effort, basic physical conditioning is what it came down to, Shaffar said. USC also has more depth, he said.
“Our third line just doesn’t match theirs,” he said.
Losing to USC meant that the Ducks advanced to the third-place game with UCLA on Saturday, which Oregon dropped 6-2.
UCLA, ranked below the Ducks as of last week, continued Friday’s hard work and tipped in one puck after the other on Oregon, whose goalies stood little chance to save Oregon without much support from the defense.
Penalties hurt the Ducks, a problem the team has struggled with the entire season. But during the UCLA game, Oregon’s behavior on the ice climaxed: The Ducks stacked the penalty box six-men deep at one point and had to play five on three for seven minutes.
“That must be a new record,” Shaffar said laughing.
“Losing to USC last night was so demoralizing,” Shaffar said in an attempt to explain the low performance with UCLA. “I really wish we could have had a better season on the ice.”
If the Ducks had played the combination they did this weekend, Hardin believes the season would have been better.
“It’s been a long year. Too many different systems,” he said.
In the opening game on Friday, Washington beat UCLA 7-5 after overtime and a shoot out, sending the Huskies to the championship game and the Bruins to chew on the Ducks.
“This [game] was hard on our boys,” said Washington head coach Cindy Dayley. “UCLA has improved a lot since last time we played them. But we never gave up.”
During the entire regular play, the game could have gone either way. However, Washington seemed fresher than UCLA in the overtime play, even though neither team scored. But once those dawgs were let out for the shootout, the result was clear: Washington capitalized on each shot while largely keeping the pucks out of their own net.
“This is the best we have played,” said Husky captain Brian Mead. “They played really well. We were just lucky.”
The victory had a particularly nice flavor for Washington, which lost to UCLA in overtime earlier.
“Revenge is sweet,” Washington goalie Scott Southard said.
However, losing to USC denied the Ducks a chance to avenge losses against the Huskies, which snatched the inaugural I-5 Cup from Oregon just two weeks ago.
The tournament concluded in a players’ banquet where the All-PAC 8 teams were announced. The Ducks sent three players to the second team roster: freshman center Mike Tornabene, senior defenseman Larry Platzke and Shaffar.
Only 10 players are named to the two teams. From the eight teams in the PAC 8, roughly 160 players are competing for those 10 spots.