For the last tune-up game before playing Oklahoma in its American Collegiate Hockey Association opener Sept. 19, Iowa State faces a tough task in the North Iowa Bulls.

North Iowa plays in the North American Tier III Hockey League, a junior hockey league that mostly consists of players just graduated from high school. The Bulls have been a force to be reckoned with in the league in recent years, winning back-to-back league championships.

“[North Iowa] has been one of the best teams in juniors over the last few years,” said head coach Jason Fairman. “They lost a lot of key guys to college, which is the case with any junior team, so I’m not exactly sure what to expect. The team has always played at a fast pace so we have to be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

The Cyclones are still trying to figure out some roster spots before playing Oklahoma. With most of the team selected after the Sept. 5 and 6 tryout series against the Huntsville Havoc, there are still a few spots left for players that Fairman wants to evaluate further this weekend.

Iowa State will now have a week of practice under its belt, which wasn’t the case for its last series.

“Everyone now knows the systems, which should give us some more chemistry on the ice,” said senior defenseman and captain Mike Dopko. “We are still building confidence. Not everyone is 100 percent with the system yet. These games will be good to test out our team against a competitive opponent.”

In recent meetings, the Cyclones have gotten the better of the Bulls. Last year, Iowa State swept North Iowa in two games, 4-2 and 7-4. But two years ago, the Bulls won 5-2.

“They surprised us and beat us. We weren’t ready for them,” Dopko said. “We were a lot better team than [North Iowa] on paper, so last year we weren’t going to lose again. We have more experience but it’s important not overlook them, especially with Oklahoma next weekend.”

Iowa State’s roster consists of former junior hockey league players. Junior forward Jake Bruhn thinks that the experience will help.

“We can never overlook a team,” Bruhn said. “They have a very different team from last year, but they will have speed and size. We are older and more experienced so we will have to make sure that we use that to our advantage.”

The Cyclones face off against the North Iowa Bulls at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 12 and 13 at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.