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Duck hockey takes 2 of 3 on the road, set sights on I-5 Cup.

January 21st, 2010

This past weekend the Oregon Ducks club hockey team traveled to the state of Arizona to take on Pac-8 rival Arizona State and out of conference opponent Northern Arizona. With both opponents being ranked just ahead of the Ducks in the ACHA west rankings, the road trip was crucial to the Ducks season goals.

The Ducks arrived in Tempe late last Thursday night, this gave them a day to recover from traveling and acclimate to the temperate Arizona weather. On Friday night the Ducks looked rested and were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead on goals from defenseman Justin Lacasse and rookie Ian Law. Midway through the second period ASU was able to slip a pair of goals by Ducks goaltender, Wren Arbuthnot, and head into the third period tied at two. From that point on the Sun Devils were unable to get anything else by Arbuthnot, and thanks to a pair of third period goals by Cam Forni, Arbuthnot picked up his seventh win of the season.

On Saturday the Ducks were able to take the momentum from Friday’s win and roll with it. After the first period the Ducks had jumped to a 2-0 lead off two Derek Wolfson power play goals. The Ducks would add four more goals in the second period and go into the third with a comfortable 6-1 lead. Oregon added two more power play goals in the third, ending the game on top of the Sun Devils 8-1. Zach Peters and Cam Forni led the Ducks with a goal and two assists each. While Derek Wolfson led all scorers with two goals and captain Sam Cehula tacked on two assists. One of the biggest keys to the game was the Ducks ability to make the Sun Devils pay for taking penalties, with the Ducks going 5-for-9 on the power play. The Ducks were also sharp on the other side of special teams, forcing Arizona State to go 0-for-6 on their power plays.

On Sunday the Ducks traveled up to Flagstaff for their third game in three days. Coming into the game Northern Arizona was ranked two spots ahead of the Ducks and the Ducks looked to make up that ground. From the opening drop it was apparent that both teams knew what was at stake and it showed when the first period ended tied at zero. The Ducks were able to get on the board first 15 minutes into the second period on a power play goal by Sam Cehula. Just when it looked like Ducks goalie Wren Arbuthnot was going to pitch a shutout, the Ice Jacks were able to get a goal with just over four minutes left in the game. Scoring the late game-tying goal was just what the Ice Jacks needed to gain the momentum and they were able to take that momentum into overtime. Two and a half minutes into the overtime period, Northern Arizona’s Dillion Shaffer, was able to split the defense and score on a fluke breakaway goal to win the game for the Ice Jacks.

Overall the Ducks had a great road-trip, taking care of their Pac-8 foe, ASU, and taking the tough NAU down to the last couple minutes of overtime. Even though it doesn’t take the sting out of the losing at all, the fact the Ducks played the Ice Jacks so tough in their third straight game shows a lot. The Ducks weekend will put them ahead of the Sun Devils in the ACHA rankings and a step closer to a regional birth. The loss to NAU will hurt the Ducks case some, but the loss could have gone to either team and the ranking committee will have to recognize that. The Ducks still have two more tough road trips to finish out the month of January, so they will need to focus on those games, and not the rankings.

This coming weekend the Ducks will travel to Seattle to take on the Washington Huskies, who are now second in the Pac-8. Not only are this weekend’s games important to Pac-8 and ACHA standings, but it is also the conclusion of the 10th annual I-5 Cup. Every season the Ducks and Huskies play four games (two home games each) and whoever wins the most games is declared the I-5 Cup champs. In the first four years of the cup, the Huskies dominated the Ducks winning it four straight seasons. Since then however, the Ducks have won five straight years and look to make six this weekend. With this year’s series being tied 1-1 after the games in Eugene, the Ducks will be looking to sweep this weekend and take an outright I-5 Cup win. If somehow the series is tied 2-2 after Saturday night’s game then the series is determined by a shootout. The Ducks will be looking to avoid the shootout situation and just win both games instead. If the Ducks can do so they will end their Pac-8 conference play with just one loss for the second straight season.
-Vince Tushner

Read more at Vince's Blog: The World of Sports, According to Vince

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