Ducks sweep Viks off the ice

In a heated rivalry between the hockey clubs of Portland State and the University of Oregon, it was the Ducks who skated off the ice with two wins over the weekend.

On Friday and Saturday night, the Ducks and Vikings faced off at the Valley Ice Arena in Beaverton for the first in a pair of two-game series between the clubs. Though Portland State rallied in the third period of each game, it was the Ducks that won 6-4 and 6-2, respectively.

“It’s frustrating,” said Portland State head coach Ross Gale. “It’s our biggest rivalry, so of course we want to beat them.”

The first meeting of the rival clubs on Friday began close, with a goal from Oregon’s Sam Cehula and a power play goal from Portland State’s Tucker Dougherty keeping the game tied 1-all at the end of the first period. In the second 20 minutes of play, Oregon’s pressure in the Portland State zone led to a 5-2 lead.

The third period belonged to the Vikings. The penalty-killing lines held strong against the Oregon power play, and Dougherty’s second goal of the night, along with a shot from Portland State team captain Anthony Libonati that found the net less than a minute later, made it a one-goal game with less than four minutes to play.

The late-game comeback was not enough, though, and the Ducks left the ice with a win after an empty-net goal with 10 seconds left on the clock put the score at 6-4.

Libonati finished the night with a matching goal and a save, and teammate Alex Zsenyuk had four assists.
Saturday night featured aggressive Portland State play on both sides of the ice. A major penalty on the Vikings in the first led to a 5-on-4 power play for Oregon, and forward Derek Wolfson capitalized with a goal to end the period at 1-0, Oregon.

Portland State goaltender Ryan Stanchfield prevented a barrage of shots from finding the back of the net early in the second period, but like the night before, the Oregon attack wore the Viks down, and the period ended with a 5-0 Ducks advantage.

A late-game Portland State revival was aided by third period goals by Dougherty and Hunter Levengood, but Oregon’s defense stopped much of the attack, and the game ended 6-2, dropping the Vikings to a 3-3 record on the season.

“We just don’t have the depth that Oregon has. That’s what a lot of it comes down to,” Gale said following the loss.

The weekend was not all lost to the Ducks though. By accepting donations for admission, in two nights the Portland State Hockey Club collected over 600 cans of food for the Oregon Food Bank.

“It was great,” Gale said of his team’s contribution. “We had a lot of fans coming out, and we filled up two barrels with cans.”

The Portland State Hockey Club’s next game is scheduled for this Sunday against Idaho.