ISU assistant coach Brandon Clark is reminding the Cyclone Hockey team to stay relaxed on the ice for the upcoming series against Lindenwood University.

Last weekend, the No. 10 Cyclones (28-8-2, 11-5-0 CSCHL) had trouble scoring on Division II rival Iowa, a team that they normally have no problem putting the puck in the back of the net against.

To avoid these offense woes when the Cyclones travel to St. Charles, Mo. to face the No. 13 Lions (10-15-2, 8-5-2 CSCHL), Clark said they can’t let frustration get the best of them.  

“I do think when we play some of these weaker teams, we are not getting the results we want in scoring,” Clark said. “We are expected to score, so there’s a lot of pressure on the players to score. I think that adds frustration. And frustration doesn’t help the process; all it does is complicate it more.”

To keep things simple against the conference opponent Lindenwood, ISU senior forward Mark Huber said the Cyclones will have to get back to basics. He pointed to getting pucks deep and driving hard at the net as what the team needs to focus on to do this.

Lions’ coach Rick Zombo might continue to complicate things for Iowa State, however. Zombo is a former NHL player and has given the Cyclones fits in the past.

“Lindenwood is a very well-coached team,” Clark said. “They are a pretty detailed team. They are good at zone entries. In the past, they have been able to come into our zone and apply pressure and crash the net. They are just good at playing within their systems in all areas of the ice.”

The Lions are having a down year compared to last season when they were 13-9-4 and No. 7 in the American Colligate Hockey Association around this time. Still, Huber thinks it would be a mistake to underestimate them.

“We play really well against really good teams and don’t play so well against some bad teams,” Huber said. “I think sometimes guys get complacent and individual against bad teams because they think they can get away with more.”

ISU senior forward Jon Feavel isn’t worrying about how Iowa State has performed against teams in the past, as he believes that it isn’t a good measure to how well the Cyclones are competing.

“I think we might get a little preoccupied with that [not being able to score].” Feavel said “In the first game against Iowa, everyone seemed to be frustrated. I mean they [Iowa] didn’t get shot in the first period until late and only had 15 shots all night. So instead of using that as an indication that we aren’t getting the job done, we should be, like, things are going well.”

The Cyclones beat the Lions 3-1 both times they met earlier this season. If Iowa State is going win this weekend, Huber said it is going to have to be a team effort.

“It is not getting back to who we are, it is getting back to who we want to be,” Huber said. “We really need to work on those systems as a team and a unit and sticking to them, not cutting off an individual play and making sure everyone is on the same page all the time. I think that is the biggest thing this weekend.” 

Iowa State will play Lindenwood at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 2 at the Lindenwood Ice Arena.