By the time they play their first home game on Nov. 19, the Oregon club hockey players will have traveled nearly 4,400 miles and spent 74 hours in transit.
But it’s not as bad as it seems, according to head coach Eddie LeRoy. Because the Ducks will have so much experience by the time they play their first home game, there will be less pressure on the team, he said.
Club coordinator Kevin Trihey said early road games might be something of a blessing in disguise. Trihey said he enjoys road trips and thinks the travel is important for team bonding. Because of the high-octane brand of hockey he expects the Ducks to play this year, travel shouldn’t hold the team back too much, he said.
“A lot of times the first game off the bus or off the vans is a little bit sluggish,” Trihey said. “But I don’t think energy will be a problem because we have a lot of fun no matter where we go and no matter who we play.”
Overall, the Ducks will play only eight home games this season, largely because the team had such a light travel schedule last year.
“You kind of have to repay the favor,” LeRoy said.
The Ducks’ games in Eugene in 2010 may also be their final eight home contests at the Lane County Ice Center. The building is in disrepair and costs Lane County a significant amount of money to operate. LeRoy said the county is requiring a hefty $2.4 million — by March — to keep the ice center open next year.
LeRoy also stated that the private sector raised $60,000 just to keep the arena, also home to the Eugene Generals minor-league hockey team, open for this year.
If the private sector is unable to raise the money, LeRoy fears that, without a training facility in Eugene or a site for home games, 2010 may be the final chapter for Oregon hockey.
“I’m hoping that there’s some big money in town that may be able to build another facility,” LeRoy said. “But I’m worried that this could be the last year for the Ducks.”
This is LeRoy’s first season as the head coach of the Ducks, but it’s not his inaugural year behind the bench. From 2007-2009, he was an assistant to coach Scott McCallum, who took the Ducks to the American Collegiate Hockey Association regionals twice.
A return to the postseason is a goal for the Ducks this year, but after a disappointing third-place finish in the Pac-8 last year, Coach LeRoy said that priority number one for the Ducks is a Pac-8 title.
“We’re just going to look for success this year. What’s happened in the past is in the past,” LeRoy said.
On the ice, LeRoy is very optimistic for the Ducks’ chances this year. An intense week of tryouts gave him a good idea of what to expect in 2010.
“I think we’ve made great strides,” LeRoy said Sunday after the team’s alumni scrimmage. “It’s often hard to tell with tryouts — you’re mixing up lines, you’re mixing up players, but when you get out and you actually play a game and you have the lines that you want together, then you can actually see how they’re playing, and I like what I see.”
Trihey is also optimistic about the Ducks’ on-ice talent this year. He said that the Ducks have an encouraging amount of returning talent, as well as a promising crop of young players.
The Ducks open the season on Friday with the first of a three-game set against Washington State. The Cougars have given up an average of seven goals per game in 2010 in losses to Washington and USC.
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