The early-season woes continued for the Oregon hockey team (7-8, 2-5 Pac-8) @@http://www.pac8hockey.com/standings.htm@@last weekend as the Ducks dropped three of their four games in the Utah Showcase tournament. As they have in many of their early season matchups, the Ducks ran into penalty troubles in their first game but were able to play relatively clean games the rest of the weekend.
“It’s definitely gotten better,” captain Dougo Reese said. “We’re coming together more and playing as a team.”
While it’s easy to get discouraged after a 1-3 road trip, the Ducks are looking at their overall body of work against a group of very talented teams.
“Other than the first game, we played well,” Reese said. “Other than a period or two.”
By the end of the weekend, the Ducks were without the services of Matt Hanlon, Ian Law and Tyler Halverson because of injuries. Several Ducks were also unable to make the trip due to academic commitments. @@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=m*+hanlon, http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Ian+Law, http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Tyler+Halverson@@
Oregon opened up the tournament against Pac-8 hockey conference foes No. 13 Utah on Thursday in a lopsided 9-1 loss. The Ducks were somewhat within striking distance going into the third period trailing 4-1, but played shorthanded due to injuries and penalties, allowing the Utes to run away with the game.
The Ducks’ lone win of the weekend came on Friday night at the expense of the Weber State Wildcats. Senior Zach Peters led the Ducks with a pair of goals in a 6-2 victory.@@http://www.oregonduckshockey.com/?page_id=6@@
On Saturday the Ducks lost 5-3 to No. 2 Colorado State. Oregon got out of the gates slowly and trailed 3-0 after the first period. The Ducks struck back in the second period with a goal each from freshman Trevor McCarty and Peters, but the Rams scored twice in the third to seal the win.
Oregon closed out the tournament with an 8-1 loss to powerhouse Utah State. As in their first game of the weekend, the Ducks were in a manageable game going into the third period before a four-goal outburst in the third from the Aggies slammed the door on any possible comeback.
“It was more just depth than anything,” Reese said.
Utah State had 44 shots in the game, and they were shooting against a goaltender in Danny Cockriel who had started four games in as many days.@@http://www.oregonduckshockey.com/?page_id=386@@
Oregon has this weekend off before returning to the rink on Dec. 2 and 3 for home games against Cal. The Golden Bears don’t figure to pose the same type of challenge as the Aggies, but the Ducks aren’t taking anything for granted.
“We don’t want to play down to another team’s level,” Reese said.
Struggling Oregon club hockey team looks to regroup over Thanksgiving break
Daily Emerald
November 21, 2011
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