After a season plagued by the inability to win back-to-back games, the ISU hockey team is finally on a roll and carrying it into the Central States Collegiate Hockey League tournament.

No. 12 Iowa State plays No. 5 Robert Morris (Ill.) in the first round of the CSCHL tournament on Feb. 15 in Athens, Ohio. The Cyclones (20-15-3) are riding a three-game winning streak into the game against the Eagles (26-6-1).

Last weekend, No. 7 Illinois swept Robert Morris en route to winning the regular season CSCHL championship. The Cyclones swept Lindenwood for the first time since 2008 last weekend.

This week, they only practiced three times before hitting the road on Feb. 14 to play the Eagles in a neutral arena in Ohio, which ISU coach Al Murdoch said is slightly smaller than the other arenas in the league.

“I think we play pretty well on a small rink,” Murdoch said. “Our players deal with the physical side of the game pretty well.”

Murdoch said the series last weekend against Lindenwood was physical but yielded only a few penalties.

“Considering how physical it was and not taking penalties, that’s to our advantage,” Murdoch said.

ISU forwards J.P. Kascsak and Jon Feavel are almost neck-and-neck in scoring. In 37 games, Feavel leads the team with 36 points (22 goals, 14 assists) and Kascsak is right behind him with 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists).

In four games against the Eagles, Feavel has scored only one goal while Kascsak has tallied four points (two goals, two assists).

Christopher Cimoch leads the Eagles in scoring with 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists). Right behind him is Gehrett Sargis with 44 points (24 goals, 20 assists). They each have four points against the Cyclones this season.

ISU forward Ryan Reid, who had three points (two goals, one assist) last weekend against Lindenwood, also stressed the physical side of the game being a factor against Robert Morris.

“They’re definitely a skilled team,” Reid said. “They’ve got just as much skill as we do. I think we’ve got more grit, so if we can take it to them and play physical with them and keep the puck in their zone, they’re going to have no chance, we’re going to pound them to the ground.”

The Cyclones play against Robert Morris at 4 p.m. on Feb. 15 at Bird Ice Arena in Athens, Ohio.