In the upcoming series with Illinois, ISU coach Jason Fairman is preparing the Cyclone Hockey team to play the percentages on the ice.

The No. 9 Cyclones (29-8-3, 12-6-0 CSCHL) will play their final regular-season conference games against the No. 19 Illini (16-14-2, 4-11-1 CSCHL) on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9.

When the two teams met earlier in the season, Iowa State was able to sweep Illinois. To try and repeat to this feat, Fairman is telling the Cyclones it’s not just about trying score but how they try to score.

“I’m more about high-percentage plays,” Fairman said. “What I mean by that is one guy not trying to walk through two guys, that’s not high percentage. The percentage is against you at this level.”

To create these high-percentage plays, Fairman said the Cyclones need to take shots low and to drive at the net to try and convert rebounds into goals. In practice this week, Fairman had the team working on quick shooting drills to increase their chances of doing this.

Last week against Lindenwood, Fariman saw the Cyclones take a step forward in completing these types of scoring opportunities, as he believes the team is starting to buy into systems he introduced when he became head coach.

“I sound like a broken record. I told these guys, ‘You are going to hear me say the same thing over and over again,’” Fairman said. “But the thing is now we are all speaking the same language.”

Where the shot is taken also seems to come into play. ISU forward Mark Huber said different areas on the ice yield better results, such as the slot, which is the area right between the two faceoff circles.

“To me, percentage hockey is not taking unneeded risks in certain areas of the rink,” Huber said. “So we don’t need high-risk plays where we are not going to get results and get scored on more often.”

Putting the puck in the back of the net still might be difficult for Iowa State due to Illinois’ strong goaltending. IU goalie Nick Clarke has saved 88.36 percent of shots on goal in 22 games this year.

“[Clarke] is a very capable goaltender,” ISU goalie Scott Ismond said. “It is going to be a goaltending battle this weekend.”

With the conference playoffs in just two weeks, the Cyclones are going be treating series with the Illini as if it was postseason hockey.

“I think the biggest thing is to not take any game for granted,” Huber said. “Coming down the stretch, we might be able to afford to lose focus in a couple of games, but it is really kind of gut-check time. The rest of the year is going to be like a business, you have to show up and be ready to work.”