Before this weekend, the last time Iowa State had beaten Lindenwood was Oct. 25, 2008.

Before this weekend, ISU goaltender Matt Cooper had played in just 5 games for the Cyclones this season as compared to Scott Ismond (19) and Paul Karus (16).

Now things have changed.

Last Friday and Saturday night, Cooper started both games against No. 7 Lindenwood and helped the No. 13 ISU hockey team snap a 13-game losing streak against it en route to sweeping the series.

In Friday’s 5-4 win against the Lions (13-11-4), Cooper stopped 20-of-24 LU shots. In Saturday’s 4-1 win, Cooper stopped 30-of-31 LU shots. He had a .909 save percentage during both games and has a .944 save percentage over the course of the season.

Cooper has started the last three games for the Cyclones (20-15-3), including the game against No. 6 Oklahoma on Feb. 2, and they have won them all.

Cooper is 6-0 and has two shutouts this season. One shutout was against Dakota-Bottineau on Dec. 7 and one was against Iowa on Jan. 27.

“I think he’s definitely earned it,” said ISU forward Ryan Reid of Cooper garnering the starting spot. “He’s been sitting in the crowd all year and we all knew what he was capable of, he just needed a chance.

“He stepped up to the plate huge and he’s played unbelievable the last couple of games.”

There is no clear indication on whether or not he’ll be the starting goaltender going forward into the Central States Collegiate Hockey League Tournament on Feb. 15 and16.

“I hope to get the opportunity and just try to help my team keep going with the same confidence,” Cooper said. “We’ve kind of changed our mentality coming in the last few games and it’s obviously for the better and it’s a good thing we have going.”

ISU coach Al Murdoch hasn’t yet decided if he’ll use Cooper for the tournaments but said he has the edge.

“We’ll see how practices go, but he’s certainly got the inside track on it, no question,” Murdoch said. “If it’s not broken, you don’t fix it.”