The Oregon Ducks club hockey team fell just short again last Thursday, losing 3-2 to the visiting Utah Utes.
The second game of the two-game series between the Ducks and Utes was eerily similar to the first game. However this time the Ducks were able to get their first shot of the game just 27 seconds in (compared to 4:51 in the first game), but unfortunately that was the Ducks’ only shot of the first period.
Jake McCormick takes the puck along the Oregon Bench in the Ducks 3-2 loss Thursday night at Lane County Ice Center. -Photo by Phil JohnsonThe Utes defense was a huge reason for the shot discrepancy, doing a fantastic job of helping out their goaltender in the first period by blocking seven shots. Once again after the first period the Ducks found themselves in a hole in the shot department, down 14-1.
The Ducks also found themselves in a scoring hole once again after the first period, being down 2-0 at the first intermission. While the play during the first period seemed rather back and fourth, with a great deal more hitting than in the first game, the Ducks just couldn’t manage to get shots on net.
In the second period the hitting ramped up just a little more, but so did the penalties. There were 55 penalty minutes in the period, including two ten-minute misconducts and a five-minute misconduct. Exactly half of the penalty minutes came at the 11:20 minute mark, after a rather large scuffle right in front of Oregon’s bench erupted. Thirty of the period’s 55 penalty minutes were given to the Ducks, including 14 to Trevor McCarty alone.
Despite the onslaught of penalties in the period, the Ducks began to find a rhythm. The Ducks were able to register seven shots in the second period alone, more than any of their previous four periods against the Utes.
The Utes were still able to outshoot the Ducks in the period however, registering ten shots of their own.The Utes were also able to put another goal in the back of the net on a 2-man advantage at the end of the second period, giving them a 3-0 lead at the second intermission.
The Ducks answered early in the third period with a 2-man advantage goal of their own. With 15:26 left in the period, Zach Peters was able to bang one home for his first goal of the season; Patrick Thorton and Dougo Reese were credited with the assists.
As the period went on the Ducks continued to get their chances, and much like in the previous night, the Ducks’ ability to run three to four lines began to wear on the Utes’ legs. Late in the period the Utes began to take more and more penalties that are usually signs of fatigue. In the final twelve minutes of the game, the Utes had seven penalties, most of which were hooking and tripping penalties.
Connor McBride being chased up the ice by the Utes. Photo by Phil JohnsonThe Ducks were able to get their second power play goal of the night with just 1:11 left in the game. Both Peters and Reese notched their second points of the game as they assisted the Connor McBride goal. The Ducks continued to pressure the Utes during the last minute, but ultimately fell just short once again.
The Ducks were outshot 36-15 in the game, a small improvement from the 48-17 differential the night before, but still not good enough. As the Ducks look forward to their next series against the Portland State Vikings, fixing the shot-total discrepancy will have to be goal number one.
The Ducks freshman goaltender, Daniel Cockriel, boasted and extremely impressive .929 save percentage over the weekend, stopping 78 of the 84 shots that came his way. If the Ducks can reduce the amount of shots that Cockriel faces, he could definitely be one of the best goaltenders in the Pac-8 this season.
The Ducks’ special teams will be crucial to their success moving forward as well. In the series with Utah, the Ducks went 4-for-20 on the power play and killed off all but two of their 18 penalty kill chances. Both ratios were rather impressive and if the Ducks can continue to capitalize on their own power play opportunities while shutting down the opposition’s power play chances, the wins will start to come.
This coming weekend the Ducks will travel to Portland to take on the Portland State Vikings. The Vikings have played in six games so far this season and are at least 2-2 (their website is awful and results against Western Washington aren’t found). The Vikings have two wins over Gonzaga at home and suffered two blowout losses to San Jose State last weekend. The Vikings lost by a total of 22-1 in their two-game trip to San Jose last weekend.
The Vikings are led by forward Anthony Libonati; who has six goals and three assists so far, having played in just the two games against Gonzaga. Oregon played the Vikings twice last season, winning both meetings by a combined score of 16-6. The Ducks will hope to get their first wins of the season against a Portland State team that they have historically done well against. The two teams have met ten times in the past four years; Oregon has a 9-1 record in the series.
So if you are in the Portland area this weekend go check out the Oregon Ducks when they take on the Portland State Vikings at the Winterhawks Skating Center located at 9250 SW Beaverton Hillsdale Hwy. Beaverton, OR 97005. Wear your ducks gear and bring your noise-makers (duck lips aren’t banned in Portland) as this rivalry is always a heated one and the Ducks could use your support.
