Just before Oregon played the Washington State Cougars in football, they faced off on the ice for Washington State’s second and last game in Eugene.
Oregon, who split their opening weekend at home 2-2, once again defeated the Cougars, but this time it was with a 16-2 score.
The Ducks struck first. 4:15 into the period, captain Tyler Halverson scored the first goal of the game with help from Alex Sulitzer and Nick Kuehl. The point was quickly followed by another when Nick Sciabarra logged an additional goal for the Ducks just over two minutes later with an assist from Brock Burgess.
Washington State managed to get one off on goalie Trevor Peterson though. Five seconds before the halfway mark of the period, Zach Sonnichsen put WSU on the scoreboard.
“It was a little shaky start (for me),” Peterson said of his first game for the Ducks. “But I think I got my feet eventually.”
After Ducks defenseman Terran Donnelly was put in the box for holding, Nick Sciabarra scored a shorthanded goal which became Oregon’s third goal of the game. Donnelly’s penalty cleared a minute later. When Donnelly left the box, he immediately snatched the puck on its way out of the Oregon zone and went on a breakaway to the front of Washington State’s net. Even though he didn’t score, Oregon managed to nab one final goal before the period ended 4-1.
The second period was rough for both teams.
It started with a tripping penalty on Washington State 1:53 into play. Nine seconds later, Oregon’s Michael Luke was put in the box tripping followed 38 seconds later by Donnelly for the same thing. This time, when Donnelly left the box after his two minutes were up, he didn’t get a scoring opportunity. Instead he was checked into the boards along the Washington State bench.
Sixteen seconds after the Ducks were finally back to even-strength, Patrick Sgarlata committed a boarding penalty and put Oregon back on the penalty kill. Before Sgarlata’s time was served, Nick Sciabarra entered the box for charging when he collided with and tumbled on top of Wazzu’s goaltender.
After the slew penalties were over and each team was back to their normal five players, Oregon scored and the scoreboard read 5-1.
Even strength was short-lived for the Ducks. Sgarlata entered the box 1 minute and 26 seconds after the Oregon goal. The call was for interference.
The rough period continued when Shayne Barrett of Washington State collided with his own teammate who was carrying the puck out of their own zone. The mistake cost WSU dearly. Michael Luke capitalized on the mistake, stole the puck and passed it to Kuehl. Kuehl sent it to Sciabarra who put the puck into the back of the net. Sciabarra’s goal was closely followed by another Ducks goal by Jesse Leonard.
With only a minute left on the clock, it looked as if Washington State was going to get one more point when the puck was sent to the back of the Ducks’ net. However, it was ruled as a goal after the whistle and wasn’t counted. The period ended 7-1 in favor of the Ducks.
The third period was a blowout. Washington State, with less than half the number of players Oregon has, was visibly exhausted. Oregon got eight goals — with some noteworthy ones being by Nick Sciabarra from his own zone and an unassisted goal by Conner McBride. WSU only managed to scrape one more past Peterson. The game ended 16-2.
Even though Washington State didn’t prove to be a difficult opponent for Oregon, the Ducks still made improvements from the night before.
“From yesterday’s game, I think we had a better start then last night,” Trevor Peterson said. “I think our second period was kind of a down-point relative to the last game, but overall I think we were a little more quick, a little more sharp.”