The Oregon club hockey team will embark on part one of the I-5 Cup this weekend, facing off against the Washington Huskies in Seattle.
“It’s the biggest rivalry we have right now,” Oregon captain Tyler Shaffar said. “If you can’t get excited for this game, you shouldn’t be out there.”
The crowds in Seattle are a caliber of their own too, and even hold a fair number of Duck fans.
“I always like being the away team in a rowdy crowd,” Shaffar said. “If anything, it distracts the home team.”
This weekend features the first Pac-8 games for Oregon since its rough road trip to Los Angeles in October, where the Ducks dropped all three games they played.
Oregon defeated the Huskies in three of four games last season. Shaffar said that those games were physical.
“The games got really chippy last year with a lot of stick work and additional stuff that slows down the game,” he said.
The biggest difference in Seattle is the larger Olympic-size rink, which calls for a more skilled team, Shaffar said. The larger size usually forces fewer open hits and a more offensive game.
“You have to play your game, but you have to adjust to the other team,” Shaffar said. “We’ve got to play really well defensively. And we’ve ironed out some things we want to do on the ice.”
With goalie Josh Hardin still out with injuries, Joe Fagliano will start in the Duck net.
“We’re getting used to his style of play, and our defense is starting to pick up on that,” Shaffar said.
The entire team — other than Hardin — is healthy, and ready to go, Shaffar said.
“I hope both teams go out there to play a fun game and not get caught up in fighting,” he said. “We’ll be playing a more beneficial game if we don’t.”