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.
When the 2012-2013 club hockey season ended for the Ducks, they faced a new opponent: debt. Oregon hockey had accumulated around $17,000 worth of cost during their season which needed to be paid — and soon.
The NHL and the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) did what hockey fans thought they wouldn’t be able to do—come to an agreement. After 510 regular-season games, including the Winter Classic and the NHL All-Star game, were cancelled due to labor disagreements, hope looked lost for the season. So, when hockey officially kicked off this Saturday with 15 games, fans rejoiced… for the most part.
For some people though, the lockout left a bitter taste in their mouth. They see the lockout as a battle between the rich and the richer, brought about solely by greed. They see the abbreviated season, 48 regular-season games per team, as an insult to fans and season ticket holders. They see this whole thing as something that had hurt and will continue hurt teams with smaller fan-bases as well as the sport of hockey in general.
All lockout-drama aside, Dan Effinger, defenseman for the Oregon Ducks hockey team, is excited to finally have the season back.
This past weekend, Ducks hockey took the University of Washington in Eugene for games three and four of the I-5 Cup.
The I-5 Cup is held annually between the two rival teams, with two games being played in Washington and two games being held at home. The winner took home both bragging rights and a trophy to call their own until the next year.
The series started in Washington, where both the Huskies and the Ducks came away with a win a piece.