Friday night's game against the Oregon Ducks was exciting and quick. The Huskies definitely came out of the gate fast, furious, and determined to beat a team that they have had little success with in the past. The previous year the Ducks beat the Huskies three out of the four games and the year before that Oregon won all four games.

The first period went back and forth with fast paced skating and minimal stoppage of play. The Huskies looked good with their connecting passes and quick plays. Finally the tenacity paid of and with 8:28 left in the first period the Huskies scored when Brett Lawrence hit Steve Hyun with a pass, who then set up Marty Boyd, who put it past the Oregon goalie. That put the Huskies up 1-0 at the end of the first period.

The word for the night for the Dawgs was tenacity, and the second period started again in the same manner. Five minutes into the game Clay Josephy set up Matt Carlson who put the puck away. Seven minutes later Brian Mead of the Huskies fed Matt Carlson who put the puck passed the Oregon goalie for his second goal of the night. At the end of the second period, the Huskies maintained their lead 3-0.

In the third period the Huskies continued to dominate the game until the final eight minutes. The Husky goalie was rushed and ended up being crushed by several Oregon players, as the Ducks scored their first goal. The goalie unfortunately retaliated and was thrown out of the game. The Ducks would have a five vs. three advantage for the next five minutes with only 2 minutes of the game at regular strength for the Huskies. The Duck capitalize minutes later and scored their second goal. The momentum had definitely shifted. The Huskies tried to kill the lopsided power play but unable to stop the Oregon rushes. Twenty seconds after the second goal, the Ducks scored again to tie the game. With less than two minutes left in the game, the game returned to equal play. With 44 seconds left in the game, Clay Josephy dug the puck out of the corner and passed it to Sam Kim who was perched on the near corner of the goal and was able to tip the puck past the goalie with two defensemen on his back. The Huskies went up by one in the final seconds. Oregon then pulled their goalie and the ferocious fore check of the Husky's Clay Josephy proved dangerous as he was able to pass to Matt Carlson who put the puck into the empty net for a hat-trick and an insurance goal. The Huskies pulled out a win, with a score of 5-3.

Coach Dayley said, "I am really proud of the guys. They focused on the win and held together despite the change in momentum at the end of the game. They all believed and it resulted in the victory."

Matt Carlson had 3 goals and one assist, Clay Josephy had two assists and Sam Kim scored the game winner. Josephy, Carlson and Bryce Kennedy were +3 for game in +/- stats. The Huskies received 26 shots and the Ducks received 31 shots. Oregon had 18 minutes in penalties plus a 10-minute misconduct penalty. The Huskies had 13 minutes in penalties plus a DQ game misconduct. 

(c) Husky Hockey, 2000