As a general rule, goaltenders are a superstitious bunch. Danny Cockreil, the freshman netminder for Oregon’s club hockey team, is no exception.@@http://www.oregonduckshockey.com/?page_id=11@@
Prior to every game, Cockreil has the same pregame meal: A 12-inch Subway sandwich, with turkey, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, black olives, vinegar and oil.
“One game I bought a Subway before the game and I played really well,” he says of the superstition, which he has kept for the last two years.
His pregame rituals don’t end at Subway, however.
“I like to get in the zone,” Cockreil says. “I’ll listen to the same song before every game.”
And while Mike Posner and Kid Cudi jams are flowing through his ears, Cockreil has one more pregame superstition — he always puts his goalie pads on the same way: left pad first, then the right.
Once he hits the ice, Cockreil always taps his posts the same way with his stick — right post first.
Cockreil has played a key role this year for the Ducks as their starting goaltender. Through his first four games, he wasn’t just the Ducks starter — he was their only option between the pipes. Although this may have put a lot of pressure on the young goalie, head coach Rich Salahor said that Cockreil has relished the challenge.@@http://www.oregonduckshockey.com/?page_id=15@@
“I don’t know if it put much pressure on him,” Salahor says. “I think he wanted to be the starting goalie anyway, so I think it’s what he wanted to do.”
The freshman from Denver has played goalie since he was 6, but for the first two years of his hockey career he was a skater. Cockreil recalls his first time on the ice and the memory isn’t exactly a pleasant one.
“I remember skating around and I kept falling down and hated it and was crying the whole time,” Cockreil says. “I always wanted to go back after that and my mom was never sure why.”
Two years later, Cockreil made the switch to goaltending. He doesn’t remember why, but he does remember the results.
“I remember playing my first game and I played pretty well,” Cockreil says.

Cockreil’s parents played a big role in his youth hockey career and always rewarded him for getting a shutout. When he notched his first collegiate shutout against Portland State, his teammates were quick to fill the void.
“The boys made me a puck that said ‘Cockreil’s first shutout’ on it,” he says. “The team got a kick out of it. They made me sleep with it that night.”
That puck has become something of a good luck charm for Cockreil. He says he keeps it above his bed in his dorm and plans to bring it with him on road trips.
Including that game, Cockreil has won four games in a row and will face the toughest challenge of his young career this weekend when the Ducks travel to California to face some of the top teams in the West, with games against San Jose State and Loyola Marymount.
Considering how quickly Cockreil adjusts to the speed of play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, his teammates are confident that he is ready for the challenge this weekend.
“Coming out as a freshman, I thought for sure that he would be a little rattled at first,” junior defenseman Matt Hanlon says. “It took all of about five minutes for him to settle in and find his comfort zone.”
As important as he is to the team, Cockreil is a rookie and that means he has “rookie duties.” Among these are collecting pucks at the end of practice and filling his teammates’ water bottles. But it’s all part of the camaraderie on a team that prides itself on being a tight-knit group.
Cockreil says he has been appreciative of his teammates and their willingness to make his job easier.
“The defense in front of me has done really well,” Cockreil says. “They’re not scared to block shots.”
When Cockreil was looking at schools, he knew he wanted to go somewhere with a club hockey team. He considered Oregon at the urging of a friend, former Oregon goaltender Wren Arbuthnot. Once he toured the campus, it became an easy decision.
After talking to the hockey team, it also became apparent to Cockreil that he might be the only goaltender on the roster.
“I talked to a few people and they said that they hadn’t heard from any other goalies,” Cockreil says. “And I knew that the two from last year had graduated, so I had a feeling I might be the only one.”
Cockreil does have several personal goals for the rest of the season. In addition to a 90 percent save percentage, he said he needs to improve his play against less talented teams.
“I don’t do well when I don’t face as many shots,” Cockreil says.
Cockreil attributes that drop-off to a lack of focus. Against better teams, he said he needs to focus 100 percent of his attention on the game. Against the likes of Washington State (which the Ducks recently clobbered 12-2), his attention tends to drift.@@http://www.oregonduckshockey.com/@@
More so than any individual goals Cockreil wants to see the Ducks regain the Pac-8 crown and make a trip to the ACHA regionals.
“As long as we’re winning,” Cockreil says, “I’m satisfied.”