The Oregon club sports hockey team returned from its Bay Area road trip with a brighter outlook on the rest of its season in spite of losing both games it played.
“We just went out there and had fun,” Oregon goalie Josh Hardin said. “Before, we took it too seriously and played too uptight. We didn’t let the game come to us.”
Last Friday, the Ducks felt the long bus trip all through their bodies as they faced off against a fresh and mature team from Palmer State University. Oregon lost 8-2, mostly due to a 5-0 deficit after the first period.
Even so, the Ducks didn’t give up.
“We finally scored a few,” Hardin said. “We knew what we had to do, and we went out there and played some good hockey.”
Road games have traditionally been hard for the Ducks, and that Oregon had to play the day of its long bus ride did not help its performance.
“They physically beat us up,” said Oregon captain Tyler Shaffar about Palmer State. “We’re pretty sore, but we played a lot better [than last weekend].”
The team spent Saturday morning preparing for its game against San Jose State that night. The Ducks fell to the Spartans, 7-4, but Shaffar said that the extra rest and relaxation helped the team’s performance.
“The way we played on Saturday made the whole team happy,” Shaffar said.
The game was as equally physical as Friday’s game was, and despite missing two key players — assistant captains Andy Waldera and Larry Platzke — the team had a better attitude, Shaffar said.
After the first period, Oregon was down, 3-1. Heading into the third period it was 5-2, but then San Jose State downed two more on Oregon, which only answered with two of its own to account for the final score of 7-4.
Hardin’s job in the Oregon net made the whole team happy.
“He played great,” Shaffar said.
Hardin was plenty busy. On Friday, he had 51 shots against him, and Saturday’s game produced 42 against the Ducks.
“I’m worn out,” he said.
The lighter attitude and the Ducks being able to have fun playing the game again should transfer nicely to this upcoming weekend. Oregon plays Northwest rival Washington at home in the I-5 rivalry that exists between the two programs.
“The scoop of these games lost mean little,” Shaffar said. “We want to beat UW and win the PAC-8.”