The Club Sports hockey team pulled the plug on Eastern Washington in the first period Friday and didn’t look back all weekend.
When the Ducks played the Eagles in Spokane in October, Oregon lost both games. On Friday, they came out seeking revenge and got it with an 8-5 win at Lane County Ice Arena.
“We came out flying,” sophomore center Mike Tornabene said.
During the physical first period, the Ducks scored seven goals, including two from Tornabene and two from senior forward Doug Washburn, while the teams combined for 15 penalties.
Eastern Washington was determined to not be kept scoreless. The Eagles made their first goal eight seconds into the second period and scored another 49 seconds later.
The second and third periods were both low scoring and low in penalties. Eastern Washington was able to score two more times before the Ducks answered, scoring its eighth goal of the night halfway through the third. With four minutes left in the game, the Eagles ended the scoring with their fifth goal on the night.
“We had a really solid showing,” said Tornabene, who had a hat trick in Friday’s game.
Oregon started off strong again on Saturday, scoring two unanswered goals and committing only three penalties during the first period.
The Ducks didn’t let Eastern Washington get the best of them during the second. The team held the Eagles to one goal while also scoring one of its own.
Oregon padded the game with two unanswered, unassisted goals in the third period to win 5-1.
Sophomore goalie Joe Fagliano had an outstanding game on Saturday, giving up one goal in the middle of his 20 saves.
Oregon lost two defensemen, senior Tim Gibbons and freshman Alex Pisciotta, to injury in the last weekend of play in 2001. Over the break, the Ducks picked up two new players in defenders junior Cory Howard and freshman Eric York. Howard played for Oregon during the 1999-00 season.
“The new guys stepped up big,” senior forward Nathan Vogel said.
Point leaders on the weekend were Tornabene with five goals and four assists and Washburn with three goals and two assists. Andy Waldera contributed three goals and one assist to the effort.
The Ducks, who went into the weekend tied for third place in the Pacific-8 Conference, are now tied with Southern California for second.
“We’re really confident as a team going into next weekend,” Vogel said.
Next weekend the Ducks play Stanford and San Jose State in the Bay Area. In two weeks, Oregon will seek revenge against Washington for its losses in November back home in Eugene.