Something about this season felt different for the ISU women’s hockey club.

Less than eight months removed from a 5-11-0 season in which the Cyclones were outscored 89-34, the team was gearing up for its 2013-14 campaign. Its first task: actually get a team together.

“When I was a freshman, people didn’t take it very seriously. We had fun, but we didn’t win a lot,” said senior Ashley Bye. “We had some issues with retention. Girls were just not coming back the next year.”

Three years later at open tryouts, so many aspiring team members showed up that the club had to make cuts, something it had never done before. When the roster was finally set, Iowa State set its sights on the season opener against University of Iowa.

The Cyclones swept the series with the Hawkeyes, winning 13-1 and 10-1. Then came the first big challenge of the year: a home series with Rainy River Community College.

The Rainy River Voyageurs had won three of the last six American Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s Division II Championships and finished as runners-up another year. That didn’t bother the Cyclones, who got the sweep again, this time winning 1-0 and 5-1.

“When we beat Rainy River, that was a big triumph for this team,” said head coach Derek Herbert. “That’s when we knew how good we really could be and that we could maybe make a run this season.”

Fast forward four and a half months. The women’s hockey club is 14-5-1 on the season and has outscored its opponents by an 86-42 margin. On deck is the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s tournament.

Iowa State ran through its foes in pool play, knocking off Michigan State 5-1, Wisconsin-La Crosse 3-1 and California University of Pennsylvania 2-1, qualifying for the semifinals in the process.

Only one problem – the club had to face off with North Dakota State in the semifinal, a team they had a 1-3 record against during the regular season. The Cyclones, led by two goals from forward Millie Luedtke, survived a late push from North Dakota State and knocked off the Bison 6-5.

“When we won in the semis, it was just surreal. Nobody else thought we’d get that far, I think some people didn’t know Iowa State has a team,” Luedtke said. “We’d only beaten North Dakota [State] once in the season, but we knew we could get it done and move on to the championship.”

Iowa State, a team that averaged just more than four goals per game, found itself locked in a defensive battle with Pennsylvania State for the ACHA National Title on March 22.

Entering the third period, both teams were still scoreless.

“We had been getting opportunities to get ahead, but nothing quite stuck out as a great shot,” Bye said.

Finally, the Cyclones had a breakthrough. Luedtke, who finished the year with 22 goals in 25 games, netted her biggest shot of the season.

The score was Iowa State 1, Penn State 0 with 7:21 remaining.

In the net for the Cyclones was freshman Sophie Puente, who already had four shut outs under her belt. About seven minutes later, Puente had her fifth.

“Wow, those were the slowest seven minutes of my life,” Bye said with a laugh.

The buzzer sounded and the Cyclones threw their gloves and sticks on the ice and piled up on each other in celebration.

Iowa State’s women’s hockey club had won the ACHA Division II national title.

“There’s really nothing like it,” Luedtke said. “It was such a team effort and obviously a huge accomplishment for this team. Not only to get to the tournament, but to come out on top. The only way to describe it is surreal.”

Following the win, Luedtke, who had five goals and seven assists in Iowa State’s tournament run, was named the tournament MVP. Bye was also named to the all-tournament second team.

Though on the outside a championship run may have seemed like a long shot, Herbert said he wasn’t as surprised.

“I took over as head coach after last year, and we had lots of talent coming in with some new girls,” Herbert said. “I wasn’t entirely sure what it would be like, but I kept an open mind. Pretty early on, I had a good feeling.”

Early in the year, Herbert decided to write his goals for the season on the team whiteboard, “go undefeated” and “win the national title” among them.

“As the season went on, we had to erase some of them and sometimes that was hard to do,” Bye said. “But winning the title, that’s still there. It’s so cool to see it still up on the board.”

With the success the Cyclones had this season, questions about their future have arisen. Herbert said that while the team was on its tournament run, he was asked by many people if the team was interested in moving to the Division I level.

“We have the capability, I think, but that’s just such a big step. And if you decide to do it, you can’t really go back,” Herbert said. “First, though, we want to make sure we have enough people and talent coming in to keep it up.”

In the meantime, Iowa State is working to schedule games with Division I teams to see how the Cyclones stack up with tougher competition. As the Cyclones weigh the options for their future, Bye thinks the top priority is to continue strengthening relationships within the team.

“We saw a family coming together at nationals; it all really fell into place,” Bye said. “We were having fun together in the hotel, everyone was clicking. If we stick together into next season and build that team chemistry, it could be another big year.”

It’s been a long journey from being unknown to being national champions, and though questions and concerns about next season already loom, the Cyclones are taking time to let it all sink in.

“Walking around campus in our gear, people are giving us high fives. One of my teachers even told the class about it and everyone clapped and congratulated me,” Bye said. “The Iowa Wild even asked us to come drop the puck at a game. It’s just unbelievable.”