Engulfed in a snowsuit and padded with his helmet and gloves, a three-year-old, purple-cheeked Danny Cockriel waddled onto ice for the first time at his local rink in Englewood, Colorado. Cockriel was a member of the Learn to Skate program and he, like the other members, fell. A lot.
Every time he hit the ice, he’d look up at his mom and she’d run to the glass shouting, “Danny! Danny! Do you want to sit out?” Every time, his response was to shake his head ‘no.’ Every time, he’d continue on.
Friday, Oct. 17, the Ducks hockey team will face Washington, the team’s biggest rival in the league, in the home opener at Lane Events Center. Each year, both teams square off in a brutal four-game series for the I-5 Cup.
Last year, Washington won in a shootout after splitting the series 2-2. The year before, Oregon took it home for the first time in four years after an overtime victory.
“We don’t play Oregon State in hockey,” senior goaltender Trevor Peterson said. “This is really our biggest rival. We have the I-5 Cup and that’s our thing, our big game.”
Unsatisfied with its brief time with the cup, the team has spent the last month releasing Youtube videos with the hashtag #TakeBackTheCup to pump up fans, and themselves, for the start of the regular season.