
Oregon Nabs Sixth Straight with Sweep Over Gonzaga
EUGENE - Saturday night belonged to the Oregon Ducks as they completed the weekend sweep over Gonzaga University, trouncing the visitors 8-5 and bringing their win streak to six.
Trevor Shott and Cavin McClare were the standouts of the night, between them registering 10 points and contributing on all but two of the Ducks’ eight tallies.
Three goals were scored in the opening twenty minutes of play, all by the home team. Warren Berg, who notched two assists on Friday, drew first blood. Deep in the Bulldogs’ zone, Kiernan Gillooley picked up the puck in the left corner and passed it to Berg behind the net who wasted no time in faking out goaltender Tristan Seyer. Nathan Lutz got the second helper at 5:24.
The Ducks doubled their lead at 14:25. Shott took control of the puck rimming around the boards and passed cross-ice to McClare at the circle. McClare threw the puck on net, where it sank top corner.
With only thirty seconds remaining, Berg grabbed his second of the night. On the power-play thanks to a Gonzaga high-sticking penalty, Andrew Lee sent a pass across center to McClare, who in turn directed it to Berg at the front of the net. Berg buried the tap-in, giving Oregon a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Not content with just an assist, Shott got on the board himself 1:37 into the middle frame when he pounced on a rebound kicked out by Seyer. Christopher Stankeivicz and McClare also picked up points on the play.
The shutout was broken about a minute later as Gonzaga’s Zach Gustlin converted on a breakaway at 2:55, but Shott and McClare would make it 5-1 with less than five minutes to go. Beginning in their own zone, McClare sent a pass at the blue line to Shott, who cleanly beat Seyer at 14:35.
Gonzaga would score the next two goals, one by Gustlin to finish out the second period and the other by Aleksei Gendron 1:05 into the third.
McClare and Shott combined yet again on the man-advantage early in the final period of play. A well-timed block by a Gonzaga player sent a shot off-course, but Shott was there to pick up the puck at the right side. He quickly handed it off to McClare, who buried it past Seyer. The tally at 3:12 put Oregon up,
6-3.
At 4:44, Lutz extended the Ducks’ lead to four goals. Catching a pass from around the boards, Lutz wasted no time in snapping it on net. Lee earned the lone assist.
The visitors would make it interesting, with Shane O’Brien and Gendron getting a goal each to cut the score to 7-5, but it would be too little, too late. Shott capped the game with another tally at 14:27, collecting a turnover in his own end and skating the length of the ice on a breakaway. Neither the Gonzaga defenseman nor Seyer were able to get a piece of his shot, earning him the hat trick and Oregon the 8-5 win.
The Ducks are off for the rest of the month, but will return on January 12 when they host the San Jose State Spartans at 7 p.m. at The Rink Exchange. Tickets will be available for purchase at the door.