Constant improvement is characteristic of any great team.

Cyclone hockey coach Al Murdoch was happy to see his team getting the win and improving in its second game of its weekend series against Central Oklahoma on Saturday. 

Coming off a sweep of West Virginia the previous weekend, the Cyclones had momentum built up and were prepared to continue their success against the Bronchos. The Bronchos, however, were resilient and took the 4-3 victory in the first game of the series in a shootout thriller on Friday. 

After four saves in a row, Central Oklahoma was able to sneak one past ISU junior goalie Scott Ismond. Murdoch was quick to defend his goalie.

“Even though we lost [Friday night] in the shootout, Ismond’s playing well,” Murdoch said. “He stopped four of their shots in the shootout, and we should’ve scored one of our five shots and didn’t and that’s why we lost it. It wasn’t his allowing a goal.”

Although Murdoch was happy with Ismond’s play, he was not happy with the referee’s call near the end of the third period.

Nearing the conclusion of the game, sitting at a 3-3 tie, sophomore defenseman Antti Helanto lofted a seemingly harmless shot from neutral zone that bounced off the ice and proceeded to dribble through the unsuspecting goalie’s legs.

Cheers erupted as the Cyclones and their fans thought they had sealed the victory with a late goal. But after careful consideration by the referees, the goal was taken away due to a delayed offsides call.

“Even after [the referee] explained it to me, I still had a question,” Murdoch said. “I think there can be an exception to every rule, and that’s one where there can be an exception.”

Murdoch plans to talk to the coordinator of officials on the phone on Monday just to clear things up and make sure they are on the same page.

Though Murdoch disagreed with the call on Friday night, he and his team were happy with the defense’s play in both games.

“The defense played great,” said senior goalie Paul Karus. “They opened up the shooting lanes well for the goalie.”

Karus also noted the fantastic all-around job of the forwards.

“They did their job, which makes our job easy,” Karus said.

Senior defenseman Brandon Clark also agreed that the defense is playing well in the Cyclones’ 3-2 victory on Saturday.

“Our d-corps is getting better,” Clark said. “You can put anybody out there and they get the job done. It’s nice to have that deep of a d-core.”

As the Cyclones prepare for Dakota College-Bottineau, they will be building on recent success, winning three of their last four games. 

Iowa State will take on Dakota College-Bottineau at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.