With a 5-2 loss to rival Washington, the Oregon hockey team saw its season end with the Pac-8 title just out of reach. On the year, the Ducks had a tough showing against Washington, winning just one of five games against the Huskies.
On Saturday, Oregon trailed by just one going in to the third period at the Pac-8 Tournament in Seattle, but Washington scored twice to cement its first Pac-8 title in school history. Like the last two meetings between the Ducks and Huskies, the third period was full of physicality and included several fights.
“It’s always a very physical affair between these two teams, and it was no different in the championship game,” said senior forward Kevin Trihey, one of several Ducks to receive game misconducts for fighting.
The Ducks played with Washington through the first two periods, but started to fall as the Huskies pulled away in the third and Oregon started to run out of time.
“Our boys came out strong, hitting and winning puck battles in the first two periods against Washington,” senior forward Erik Brody said. “The third is where they pulled away and we had no answer; the train started to derail and the seconds seemed to speed by.”
The Ducks spent a great deal of time in the penalty box in Saturday’s loss to the Huskies, giving Washington several quality chances on the power play. Head coach Eddie LeRoy said he would have liked to see more consistent officiating in the championship game.
“The only thing that I’ve ever asked as a coach or a player was for consistency from the refs, and I don’t necessarily feel that we had that in the final game,” LeRoy said. “Were the penalties we took penalties? Yes, for the most part, but I felt that on a few occasions the whistle got put away.”
Despite the result, LeRoy said he was thrilled with how his team played in Seattle. Unlike the series the Ducks and Huskies played in Eugene, where he felt Oregon was simply outplayed, LeRoy said the team showed up to play this time around.
“I couldn’t have asked for more from the guys, they played with heart, tenacity and desperation,” he said.
Oregon went into last weekend’s Pac-8 tournament as the top seed, and cruised past California 11-0 in the first round Friday night. In the other semifinal, Washington beat USC in a shootout.
LeRoy said the blowout against the Golden Bears may not have been the best tune-up for the championship game, but he said overconfidence didn’t play a role in the Ducks’ loss.
“The guys were focused and realized that the next day’s task would be incredibly different,” LeRoy said. “With that said, I would have much rather squeezed out a more dramatic win than an 11-0 blowout. 2-1, 3-2, overtime or shootout games are incredible momentum builders.”
On the whole, LeRoy said he was happy with the results of his first season as head coach. The Ducks may not have accomplished the goals they set at the start of the year, but they still made the 2011 campaign a memorable one, LeRoy said.
“We had several goals at the beginning of the year, to win back the I-5 Cup and ultimately the Pac-8 Championship,” LeRoy said. “Unfortunately, we were unable to achieve either one. With that said, I still feel that we had a stellar season.”
Going into next season, the Ducks have some big skates to fill. Oregon graduates eight seniors — including both goaltenders — meaning the Ducks will have some serious recruiting to do to set themselves up for next season.
“We’re all disappointed in where we ended up this year; seniors like myself won’t get another chance to stick it to UW,” Brody said. “A 20-7 record is an accomplishment, but it’s not what we aimed for.”
With a young team that included 10 new players, Oregon will be back in full force next year in pursuit of the conference championship.
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