The Oregon club hockey team will travel to Portland State for crucial non-conference games on Friday and Saturday after its bye week last weekend.
Oregon’s next two series, against Portland State and Idaho, will help to determine whether it will qualify for the American College Hockey Association’s West Regional tournament. A top-10 ranking in the ACHA poll is required to qualify for the tournament, and even though the Ducks finished with only one loss in the Pacific-8 Hockey Conference last season, they did not qualify due to their lackluster performance in non-conference.
McCallum said the non-conference games provide tougher opposition for the team than the teams within the Pac-8. He especially noted the games at Eastern Washington University early next year that should have crowds of over 2,000 people to watch them.
“The Eagles don’t rebuild, they reload,” head coach Scott McCallum said. “Year after year, they’re competing in the West and competing at nationals.”
In its last series at USC, Oregon won 4-3 in overtime on Oct. 24, and 6-3 on Oct. 23.
On Oct. 24, Oregon was leading 2-1 after the first intermission before giving up two goals from the Trojans in the second, leaving it down entering the third period for the first time this season.
In the third period, Oregon forward Kevin Trihey tied the game at three, sending the game into overtime. With less than two minutes remaining in the overtime period, forward Tyler McCarty scored his third goal of the series to win the game for the Ducks, preserving their perfect 6-0 record this season.
Forward Sam Cehula forced a turnover in Oregon’s offensive zone and assisted on the
game-winning goal.
“McCarty came down the ice, I waited for the defenseman to turn, got the puck to him, and he was able to take a clear shot at goal,” Cehula said.
Cehula finished the game with a Gordie Howe Hat Trick by registering a goal, an assist and a fight.
McCarty said the goal was a combination of good timing and good luck.
“I knew Sam would give me a good pass, and I was trying to shoot far side low to give him a rebound and I got lucky and it went in,” he said.
McCarty also said the Ducks had a major problem with “stupid” penalties in the second period, and the team “got a nice little talk in the second intermission.”
Because of the penalties, McCallum said he reintroduced the team’s policy on penalties from last season. He threatened to bench any player who took a “stupid” penalty for the rest of the game. This was successful for the Ducks, as they only took one penalty in the third period.
The success continued for Oregon through their road trip to California on Oct. 23. Oregon dominated USC, taking a 4-0 lead into the first intermission, and the score remained the same throughout the second period. The Trojans scored twice quickly in the third period, making the score 4-2, before the Ducks scored two power-play goals to extend their lead back to four.
USC added a late goal on a penalty shot, but that was the last score of the game as it finished 6-3 in favor of Oregon. The Ducks were led by McCarty and forward Ian Law, who both tallied two goals in the game, and defenseman Justin LaCasse, who recorded a goal and two assists.
On the weekend prior to the series against the Trojans, Oregon hosted Washington State, winning 10-1 on Oct. 17, and 7-1 on Oct. 16. The Oct. 17 game was the first career start for goaltender Jack Barry and featured two-goal performances by LaCasse, Law and forward Chris Mitton. The offense and defense were both dominant for the Ducks, as they fired off 60 shots and limited the Cougars to a mere 15.
The rest of November for the Ducks includes home games on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 against Idaho and on Nov. 20 and Nov. 21 against Oregon’s biggest hockey rival, Washington.
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Ducks look to impress voters Friday
Daily Emerald
November 2, 2009