Feb 2- Ducks lose lead, lose players, blow game: Though
it appeared the Ducks had a victory in their hands, University of Washington
comes back to capture the Athletic Awards I-5 Cup
in an 8-6 victory in Eugene, Ore. The night looked very promising for the Ducks,
as they jumped to a big early lead in front of an excited 400+ loud and rowdy
Duck fan base. The Ducks got on the board first when Nathan
Vogel threaded a perfect pass to Tyler
Shaffar who was able to tap the puck in to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead.
However, UW responded midway through the first to tie it up with own of their
own. Then with 5 minutes remaining in the first UW had the opportunity to take
the lead with a 4 minute powerplay. But Oregon ended up getting more offense
from it then UW. First, Brett
Ledder scored on a shorthanded breakaway, juking to his backhand to give the
Ducks a 2-1 lead. A minute later, The Duck's notched another shorthand goal when
Shaffar one-timed in a pass from
Mike Tornabene (3 assists on the night) to make it 3-1. The goal gave
Shaffar his 100th point in his career with the Ducks. With the fans excited the
Duck's went into the second period on the powerplay and looking for more. That
happened when Shaffar beat UW's goalie Scott Southard, with a wrister from the
face off circle to complete his the hat trick for the night. That's was the last
happy Duck moment for awhile as UW would score the next 5 goals in the game to
take a 7-4 lead. Midway through the second period the Ducks lost Shaffar for an undisclosed
amount of time due to an injury. Goalie Josh
Hardin was knocked out for the remainder of the game, and Jesse
Cohen also had to leave the game with a concussion. Even with the Duck's
depleted the Ducks attempted another come from behind assault. In a 4-4 situation
Larry Platzke brought the Ducks
to within 2 with 5 minutes remaining, with his third point on the night. Ledder followed
up with one of his own 14 seconds later to make it a 7-6 Husky lead. So the
heated rivalry was now in store for another great finish as both teams battled
for the I-5 Cup. With 4 minutes to go, the Huskies were called for a penalty,
and Ducks through everything they could to try to tie the match up. However, the
relentless Huskies finally broke through and put home a shorthanded goal on Joe
Faglaino to sweep the I-5 Cup. The Huskies out shot the Ducks 42-33 on the
night.
Jan 28- San Jose State
Holds Ducks Back- The Ducks Bay Area road trip ends with tough 7-4
Loss to the San Jose State Spartans in San Jose, Ca. While down early on
to the Spartans, The Ducks made a run falling short on the night.
Despite good end to end rushes for both teams in the 1st period San Jose
State took a 3 goal lead into the second period after scoring their
first goal 10 minutes into the game. The Ducks answered with a goal of
their own, thanks to forward Mike
Tornabene whose offensive game seemed to come back to him this
weekend after scoring the night before. The Ducks had a chance to make
it 3-2 a few minutes later, but Nathan
Vogel, who had 3 assists on the night, was robbed on a point blank
shot by Spartan goalie Eric Lahrs. The Spartans ended up the 2nd period
with 3 more goals to take a 6-1 lead into the third. The Ducks however,
did not let down, and instead played their best period of hockey on the
weekend in the third period. Tornabene found a loose rebound and made it
6-2. Brett Ledder then answered
with a poweplay goal, followed by Rob
Starkey's goal and 2nd point of the night on a deflected shot. With
the lead down two and the Ducks desparelty trying to get the next goal,
the Spartans converted one of their own to put the game away. Josh
Hardin stopped 35 shots on the night, while the Ducks took 23 shots.
Jan 20- Palmer beats Ducks in physical affair: Palmer West
easily defeated the Ducks 8-2 in San Jose, Ca. While trying to beat the
Ducks on the ice, Palmer also apparently tried to beat the Ducks into
the ice. Perhaps Palmer was out for revenge since this was the first
meeting between the two teams after a weekend sweep two years ago
up in Oregon destroyed any national hopes for Palmer. So while taking a
5-0 lead after one period of play, including 2 goals in the first 2
minutes, Palmer tried every physically intimidating tactic it could
think of on the ice. Whistle or no whistle the game continued for the
Palmer Pride, eventually scoring 2 more goals to the Ducks 1 in the
second period to enter the third with a commanding 7-1 lead. Mike
Tornabene, who seems to be the Duck's leading post hitter, scored to
get the Ducks on the board in the second. Thomas Mele, who returned from
a coach to player for the rest of the season added the Duck's second
goal of the game with a minute remaining in the contest to cap off a
travel weary squad's lackluster performance. 51 shots were taken on
Oregon's netminder Josh Hardin .
Jan 20- Trojans silence Ducks offense at home to get a weekend sweep:
USC controlled the Ducks and the scoreboard in a 5-1 loss for the Ducks
in Eugene, Or. USC once again jumped on the board quickly scoring 2
first period goals, to take the quick lead. In the 2nd period with the
Ducks desperately trying to score the first goal of the weekend, a
defensive breakdown resulted in the Trojans third goal of the night. The
third goal also resulted in the Duck's pulling starting goalie Josh
Hardin, with Joe Faglaino. Finally, at 10:31 of the second period,
the Ducks pulled off a necessary element in winning a game: a goal.
Brett Ledder put home a powerplay goal to make the game interesting once
again. However, USC responded with a powerplay goal of their own a
few minutes later to deflate the Ducks hope and give the Trojans a 4-1
lead into the third period. USC added on more in third, in a night that
saw USC outshoot the Ducks 39-26.
Jan 19- USC's goalie frustrates Ducks: In a game that seemed to
be controlled by the Ducks, even having the Ducks outshoot USC 35-32,
the Ducks still fall 4-0 to Trojans in Eugene, Ore. USC's Clay Hix
stoned the Ducks, including 17 saves in the second period alone. A fluky
goal 1 minute into the game seemed to give USC the advantage, however,
the Ducks kept battling and seemed destined to put the puck in the net.
But time and time again the Ducks were denied. Including
point blank opportunities and a few posts as well. While quieting
the Ducks home crowd USC was eventually able to capitalize on a few Duck
turnovers to put the game away from Oregon. With the score 1-0 at the
start of the second, USC scored 3 unanswered goals to make for a disappointing
home appearance and 3 game losing streak. Josh Hardin stopped 28-32
shots on the night.
Jan 13- Utah skates on higher ground; blows
out Ducks- Despite visiting church earlier, the migrating Ducks prayers
were not answered as they were blown out by the University of Utah 10-2 in
Salt Lake City. The Ducks road migration has proven a problem with a 1-7 road
record. The Ducks were thinking the possibility of an upset against the #2
ranked team, when Andrew Belcher knocked
in a powerplay goal early in the first period. The Ducks maintained their 1-0
lead all the way until the final minutes of the first period when Utah opened the
floodgates. Utah scored 5 more goals by the end of the second period forcing the
Ducks to pull starter Josh Hardin
and replace him with nationally ranked goalie Joe
Fagliano to start the third. Steve
Budke showed his knack of finding the net to make it 6-2 before Utah finished
off the Ducks with 4 more goals to complete the hunt.
Jan 12- Shorthanded goals deflate Ducks in
penalty filled affair:- Oregon loses 5-1 to #1 ranked Weber State,
letting up 3 shorthanded goals in a match that saw 184 minutes of penalties in
Ogden, UT in front of a 600+ rowdy Weber crowd. The Ducks 94 minutes of
penalties, along with the Weber State's minutes set a new Oregon record in penalty
minutes in all aspects. Josh Hardin did an excellent job
in net stopping 39 of 44 shots and keeping the Ducks in the game with incredible
saves. 5 minutes into the first period, the Ducks were looking to take an early
lead on the powerplay, when Weber St. intercepted a pass and scored their first
of three consecutive shorthanded goals to take an early 1-0 lead. The second
period again started on the powerplay for the Ducks, however, a quick strike by
Weber State shorthanded gave the WSU a 2-0 lead. WSU completed their shorthanded
bonanza with a goal with 5 minutes remaining in the second to build a solid
3-0 lead. Weber State added 2 more goals in the third, including one on the
powerplay, before the Duck's Brett
Ledder netted a power-play goal to get the Ducks on the board. That's
when the scene turned ugly. With the game already out of control from the early
goings, eventually all the small scuffles erupted into a major skirmish which resulted in 5 Ducks
(Andy Waldera, Tyler Shaffar, Brett Ledder, Craig Platzke & Nathan Vogel)
being thrown out for the remainder of the contest along with 4 Weber State
players. Despite the major infractions the game settled down as the Ducks
continued their road woes.
Dec 2- Ducks dispose of
Vikings with two late goals- In another great match
against Western Washington, the Ducks pull out a victory with two late goals in
a physical 5-3 victory Saturday night in Eugene. Once gain the Ducks were led by
outstanding goal tending from Josh
Hardin who stopped 24 shots on the night. The Oregon defense, shorthanded
for the weekend due to injuries, once again saw Rob
Starkey (2 assists) pick up his play to pave the path for a Ducks
victory. The Ducks found themselves behind early giving up an early first
period goal 5 minutes into the contest to go down 1-0. The Ducks battled back to
take the lead, scoring two goals 1:12 apart with 5 minutes remaining in the
first. Andrew Belcher knocked in
the first one, and Mike Tornabene,
the Ducks' leading goal scorer, gave the Ducks the lead. The second period
started off with a 2-1 lead for the Ducks, with the Ducks looking to get the
next goal to start putting the Vikings away. The Duck's finally netted the third
goal thanks to Belcher's second of the night with 5 minutes remaining in the
second. However, the Vikings did not give up and battled back with their own
goal with two minutes remaining in the period to steal the momentum from the
Ducks. With the Vikings down 3-2 in the third period, the Vikings battled hard
to get the tying goal. The Vikings were finally able to tie the game with a
power play goal half way through the third period. With the game tied at 3-3 the
Vikings once again went on a power play due to Tyler
Shaffar's second bad penalty in a row. Fortunately, Oregon was able to
kill off the penalty and keep the match tied at 3-3. With 3 minutes remaining in
the period the Ducks finally had a power play of their own. Tornabene caught a
pass in the slot and put the puck home for his second of the night and the game
winner. With two minutes remaining Nathan
Vogel added the insurance goal to complete the exciting 5-3 victory. Shaffar
had the play maker with three assists in the Ducks 38 shot night.
Dec 1- Vikings take one away on Ducks home ice- The
Western Washington Vikings came down to Eugene and stole one form the Ducks
home, with a 4-2 victory. Goalie Josh
Hardin made his presence known in net once again for the Ducks with a great performance
on a 41 shot assault from the Vikings. Hardin was retuning from an unfortunate
hand injury suffered a month ago. The Ducks offense had its problems scoring
against the stingy and solid Viking defense and goaltending. Vikings jumped on
the board quickly with a goal in the first two minutes of the game. However, Tyler
Shaffar answered with his own to bring the game to 1-1 tie. The rest of the
1st period and all the way until midway through the second saw both teams
battling back and forth unsuccessfully trying to score. The Vikings finally were
able to open the gates, as they put in three goals in the end of the second
period to hammer down the Ducks 4-1. The third period saw the Ducks throwing
everything they can at the Vikings, but Vikings tender Dave Morrill was there to
answer the task. The Ducks efforts finally came through with a goal from Nathan
Vogel with 3 minutes remaining in the game. Despite peppering the Vandals
for the last three minutes with a plethora of great scoring opportunities the
Vikings held the Ducks back.
Nov 18- Huskies
put Ducks away in 3rd period- Ducks couldn't
pull off the comeback magic in 4-1 loss to Washington in Seattle.
With the Ducks down 2-0 entering the third period, it looked as if the
Ducks were going to mount another comeback. The Huskies who scored goals
in both the first and second period, enjoyed numerous power plays
in a lopsided officiating game that saw the Ducks record 24 minutes of penalty
minutes to UW's 12 minutes. Despite the poor officiating the Ducks
looked like they were back on track as Brett
Ledder scored a goal 49 seconds into the third period to make it
2-1. The next few minutes saw the Ducks miss a flurry of opportunities
to tie the game. However, the pressing Ducks were caught by UW,
and were down 3-1 just a few minutes later, killing any momentum the
Ducks had. With Oregon on its heals UW finished off the Ducks and the
weekend series with a goal to make it 4-1 with 10 minutes remaining in
the third period. Joe Faglaino,
continued, his strong performance in net for the Ducks despite absorbing
a loss. The win put UW up 2-0 in the I-5 cup.
Nov 17- Ducks amazing comeback ends in a loss to
UW- Down 3-0 with 8 minutes remaining in the
third Oregon scored three goals to tie the game before Washington put
home the game winner with under a minute left in a 5-3 heartbreaking
Ducks loss in Seattle, Wa. The Huskies controlled most of the game,
taking a 3-0 lead into the third period with a goal in the first and two
more in the second. The Ducks seemed flat and the game was going the
Huskies way until Nathan Vogel
found the net with 7:56 left in the third to make it 3-1. The loss of
the shutout was perhaps to much for the UW's starting goalie Scott
Southard to handle, as Southard took a swing with his blocker at
Vogel after the goal, which resulted in a 5 minute major and game
disqualification for the goalie. With the Ducks on a 5 minute unlimited
powerplay, the momentum of the game suddenly changed. It took four
minutes for the Ducks to net their powerplay goal as Vogel added his
second of the night to make it 3-2. The Ducks were not done, as Andy
Waldera scored on the powerplay just 25 seconds later to amazingly
tie the game at 3-3 with 3:20 remaining in the contest. The next 2
minutes saw intense action from both teams, however an unlucky bounce
proved to be the Ducks downfall. With 44 seconds left, an attempted
break out pass from the Ducks zone took an awkward deflection and went
directly to UW's forward Sam Kim, who deked Duck's starting goalie
Joe Fagliano to put home the
game winner. UW added an empty net goal with 23 seconds remaining, to
cap off the nail bitter.
Nov 11- Offensive
mayhem for the Ducks- Oregon swept the
visiting University of Idaho Vandals with a 13-1 victory in Eugene, Ore.
The outcome of the game was never in doubt, as the Ducks trounced over
the Vandals with 4 first period goals. In the second period the Ducks
added 5 more to give them a 9-1 lead as Idaho was finally able to get
one through goalie Joe Fagliano,
the only shot of 30 to get through. With the first two lines
getting a rest in third, The Ducks continued to run down the Vandals
with 4 more third period goals. Scoring highlights including a 4 point performance
from Scott Tedrick & Mike
Tornabene. Tyler Shaffar
got his second hat trick of the weekend, and Andy
Wadlera along with
Nov 10- Ducks
blow out the Vandals- Oregon continued it's
winning ways, by easily defeating the University Idaho Vandals 8-2 in
Eugene, Ore. Joe Fagliano, getting
his first start in net due to Josh Hardin's
injury, stopped all but 2 shots on a 26 save performance. The Ducks got
off to a quick start as Senior Tyler
Shaffar got his first
Nov 4- Ducks cruise to
easy home win vs Pioneers- A Duck offensive explosion
led to a convincing 14-2 win over Lewis and Clark Saturday night at the
Lane County Ice Arena. In a game that kept the scorekeeper on his toes,
the Ducks outshoot L&C 59- 20. The game saw hat tricks from freshmen
Steve Budke and Mike
Tornabene as well as 2 goal performances from Andy
Waldera, Brett Ledder and Andrew
Belcher. Eight ducks had a multiple point game, highlighted by
Tornabene's 6 points and Waldera's 5 points. While in control of
the game the Duck's only took a 2-1 lead into the 1st intermission.
L&C goalie Chris Larson continued his strong play over the weekend
seeing 23 shots in the first period alone. However, in the second period
the Ducks started to put the game away on the scoreboard as they entered
the third with a 5-2 lead. Then the flood gates opened and a new Oregon
Ducks single period record of 9 goals gave the fans a offensive show. Defenseman
Tim Gibbons put the last wound
in to finalize the offensive demonstration, netting his first career UO
goal. Other notables included Nathan
Vogel's and Jessie Cohen's 3
point nights. Goalie Joe Fagliano
came into replace Josh Hardin in
the third period and continued his scoreless streak now at 71:50.
Nov 3-Ducks
get much needed road victory vs Lewis and Clark- The
Ducks easily defeated ACHA newcomer Lewis and Clark Friday night 10-1 on
the road in the Portland Area. While Lewis and Clark played a tough and
scrappy game the Ducks simply dominated the Pioneers, out-shooting them
42-14. Oregon was able to roll all four lines throughout the game. The
Ducks took an easy 4-0 first period lead thanks to goals by forwards Andy
Waldera, Brett Ledder, and
two from Tyler Shaffar, before
Lewis and Clark answered back making it 4-1 to end the 1st. At the start
of the second, goalie Joe
Fagliano replaced Josh
Hardin in net, and did not allow a goal for the rest of the night.
The second period scoring for the Ducks saw Defenseman Dan
Rusler net his first career UO goal, followed by Mike
Tornabene and Nathan Vogel to
make it 7-0. The third period saw another first career goal from defenseman
Jesse Cohen, as well as two more goals
from forwards Kyle Eliason and
Ledder's second of the night. Seven Ducks recorded a multiple point
game: Shaffar (4), Ledder (3), Vogel (3), Waldera (2), Cohen (2),
Tornabene (2) and Eliason (2).
Oct 28-Skid hits five games as Ducks lose
to Montana St.- The Ducks were embarrassed on
home ice Saturday night as they lost to Montana State 9-2 in Eugene,
Ore. Once again the Ducks were stomped on in the 1st period giving up 6
1st periods goals. Back-up goalie Joe
Fagliano replaced starting goalie Josh
Hardin midway through the 1st period. The Ducks, an experienced team
in trying to overcome huge 1st period deficits, were unable to muster
anything as Montana State took a 8-0 lead entering the third period.
Junior Nathan Vogel scored to end
the shutout bid and freshman Steve
Budke scored at the buzzer
Oct 27-Ducks throw one away against Montana
St.- Once again
the Ducks came out absolutely flat in a first period of a game, giving
up 5 1st period goals before losing to Montana State 7-5 in Eugene, Ore.
MSU shellacked starting goalie Josh
Hardin for four straight before the Duck's freshman Scott
Tedrick scored his first goal in his UO career. However, The Ducks
gave up another quick one just 38 seconds later to give MSU a
comfortable 5-1 lead. Larry Platzke
quickly answered to get the Ducks back to within 3 with a minute
remaining in the 1st period. In the second period the Ducks started to
take control of the game as Junior Andrew
Belcher knocked in a power play goal to reduce the lead back to 3
for MSU. The Ducks had numerous opportunities to cut down the lead, but
three posts, and a few missed opportunities left the Ducks frustrated.
After coming out of the second intermission down 5-2, MSU quickly
silenced the Ducks with a goal by MSU's Walt McBrian (his third of the
night). The Ducks kept battling as Tedrick scored to bring the Ducks
within two, but once again poor defensive zone play resulted in MSU
answering with a goal of their own. On a bright note for the Ducks
Tedrick scored his third goal of the game with a minute left to complete
his hat trick. Senior Captain Tyler
Shaffar recorded 4 assists and three posts on the night.
Oct 21-UO loses heartbreaker to UCLA-The
road keeps haunting the Ducks as they lose a heartbreaker on the road
against UCLA 3-2 in a game that easily could have gone the other way. The
Ducks physically dominated the game with their hard hitting style but
were unable to work the scoreboard and get the puck past UCLA Goalie
Mike Michelena. Oregon goalie Josh
Hardin, and UCLA's Michelena, made great save after save in stifling
both teams attacks. After a scoreless 1st period the Ducks once again
fell behind in the weekend games, giving up 2 goals in the 1st half of
the second period. However, down 2-0, the Ducks struggling power play
came to life with a power play goal by senior Larry
Platzke, who pounded in a rebound from a shot from the point to get
the Ducks to a 2-1deficit with a minute remaining in the period. In the
third period UCLA seemed to put the dagger in, when they scored to make
it 3-1, however, Andy Waldera
responded with his own goal 7 seconds later to bring the Ducks back to
within a goal with 15 minutes remaining. The next 15 minutes the Ducks
did everything they could to try to tie the game up. After a missed
power play opportunity midway through the third period, the Duck finally
had to pull the goalie for the extra attacker. Despite some flurries in
front of the net, UCLA was able to hold the Ducks back for a weekend
sweep.
Oct 20- Mental lapses destroy Ducks in 1st period
against Bruins-The Ducks plagued by penalty
problems came out flat against UCLA and lost 6-3 in El Segundo, CA even
though they out-shot the Bruins 38-27. The 1st period mental mistakes
proved costly as UCLA jumped out to a 5-0 led in the 1st period due to their
strong power play unit. On a 5 minute boarding penalty UCLA was able to
score three goals to give UCLA shocking 4-0 lead just 12 minutes in. The
Ducks still not ready to play gave up one more to be down 5-0 before
freshman Mike Tornabene scored
to make it 5-1. After taking out starting goalie Josh
Hardin at the start of the 2nd period, freshman Joe
Fagliano came out strong and let up only one goal the rest of the
night on 15 shots. The Ducks came out a lot stronger in the last two
periods, but the deficit in the 1st period was too much for the Ducks to
overcome, even with Tornabene's hat trick.
Oct 19- UO falls apart in 3rd period vs USC-In
a game that was a lot closer than the scoreboard indicated, the Ducks
fell apart in the third period to fall 7-1 against USC in Anaheim, CA.
With both teams battling end-to-end, USC struck first with 5 minutes
remaining in the 1st period. However, the Ducks kept battling, and
thought they had a tied the game up at the end of the 1st period on a goal
by Tyler Shaffar. However, a controversial
call by the referee ruled that the puck was kicked in. The Ducks
never seemed to regain the momentum lost. The Ducks remained strong,
before going down to USC on a late goal in the second period to fall
down 2-0. With Ducks still in striking distance in the third, USC
started to pull away as the Ducks self destructed. Perhaps, it was the
Ducks long travel day, but Oregon gave up 5 goals to give USC yet
another victory over the Ducks as the two programs clashed. Freshman Mike
Tornabene was able to break up the shutout with a goal with a minute
left in the game. Ducks new player, Qutaibah
Hamada, received his first career Duck point on the final goal.
Oct 14-UO completes
Stanford sweep with shutout- Ducks
brought the brooms out as senior Goalie Josh
Hardin shutout the Cardinal 7-0 in Eugene, Ore to complete the weekend
sweep. Hardin stopped all twenty eight shots with the help of a great effort by
the Duck's defensive core. Defenseman, Junior Tim
Gibbons, playing his first weekend games as a Duck, completed a solid
weekend of work stifling Stanford's attacks. The Ducks
took only a 1-0 led into the 1st intermission thanks to a shortside goal by Andy
Waldera. While the Ducks lacked the offensive intensity early on in the
game, they were able to net three more goals in the second with the help of new
players, junior transfer, Nathan Vogel
and freshmen Mike Tornabene and
Nick Bogen (1st career UO goal for
both Bogen & Vogel). Entering the third period, junior Andrew
Belcher went on goal streak netting two, making it four points (2 goals + 2
assists) on the night. Senior Rob
Starkey, the defensive minded defenseman, made sure to be included in the
scoring, finding the net on a wicked shot from the point. Tyler
Shaffar received the playmaker with 3 assists on the night.
Oct 13-Another
opening night hit- The Ducks held back
butterflies and a hard working Stanford team, winning 6-2 in front of a
large and rocking crowd in Eugene, Ore. The Ducks opened up the scoring
first as freshman Mike Tornabene
scored his first career UO goal. Late in the 1st period senior Tyler
Shaffar got his first of 4 points (1 goal + 3 assists) with a goal
weaving out of the corner. In the 2nd period Stanford came out flying,
and made the game close with a quick goal to start the period. However,
the Ducks responded with two quick goals thanks to seniors Cam
Hall, and Larry Platzke.
Stanford's superstar, Bobby Jaros later scored to make it 4-2, but
freshman Steve Budke stepped up
and directed the puck towards the net for his first career UO goal to
end the period and give the Ducks the 5-2 lead. Tornabene finished up
his impressive debut with a goal to put the game out of reach in the
third. |