The Oregon Club Hockey team skated to two victories in its season opening games, beating Stanford on both Friday and Saturday night.
Friday’s game earned the Ducks a 6- 2 victory and warned the Cardinal that more of the bitter medicine was to follow. Twenty-four hours later, Oregon completed the Stanford sweep with a 7-0 shutout at the Lane County Ice Arena.
“Defensively, we didn’t let up, and offensively we put the numbers on the board,” said freshman Mike Tornabene, who netted his first career goal in Friday’s game.
In that game, Oregon had only a 1-0 lead after the first period, but put it together offensively and shoved five more past the Cardinal goalie for the final score of 6-2.
The Ducks put Friday’s experience on the ice the next night and kept the puck on the right side of the Stanford goalie: behind him. The rubber disk stayed out of the Oregon goal thanks to careful guarding from senior goalie Josh Hardin, who barred a whopping 28 shots.
Nailing down the Cardinal’s major problem — relying on star player Bobby Jaros — helped secure the victory for the Ducks.
“Once we contained him, we could score,” Tornabene said.
Additionally, having three lines rather than just one made a huge difference too, team captain Tyler Shaffar said.
“It wasn’t just a one-line team or a bunch of guys playing for the team,” Tornabene said. “We came together as a team.”
Oregon had just the right recipe for a killer weekend: the benefit of home ice and the skills and preparations of the team.
“The crowd was great, especially the guys sitting in the front,” Shaffar said.
“It’s great to be recognized for what we do, and it’s so much more fun to play in front of a crowd,” Tornabene said. “They get really fired up about the fights.
“It was a good start of the season but the real intensity will pick up.”
Coach Garreth MacDonald, who has actively assisted in recruiting new players, has really taken the team to the next step, Shaffar said. The Ducks have signed 12 new players to the team this season, adding skills and experience to create a new dimension of depth.
“We’re not a beginner’s team,” Shaffar said. “It’s a quicker team this year. We’re faster, more experienced and harder-hitting. And it’s a new team mentality this year. It’s more serious, and everyone is making practices.”
Although the Ducks enjoyed a winning season-opener, they realize the real challenges are lined up ahead for them. Next weekend features a three-day, three-game road trip to Los Angeles where Pac-8 foes USC and UCLA are expecting them.
“Thursday’s game against USC could be particularly tough,” Shaffar said. “We have never beaten USC.”
Another loss there would mark the 10th anniversary of losing to USC, he said.
After this weekend, Oregon returns home to face Montana State Oct. 27-28.

Outdoor program offers free workshop
The Oregon Outdoor Program offers a free workshop tonight at 7:30 p.m., featuring its alliance with the “Leave No Trace” program.
The LNT program emphasizes environmental ethics and “light hand on the land” practices that help minimize human impact on the environment while traveling in the great outdoors. Tonight’s clinic will teach the essentials of low-impact excursions.
The workshop will take place in the Outdoor Program Lounge, located downstairs in the EMU.