Along with honoring military personnel for military weekend, the No. 11 Cyclones plan to hand No. 6 Oklahoma an unexpected upset.

Both active and veteran members of the military will be given free admission to either game this weekend simply by wearing their uniform.

“We want to recognize those people that lay it on the line for us,” said coach Al Murdoch.

Coming off of another split series with Indiana, Murdoch and Iowa State (9-6-1) will take on Oklahoma (8-4-1), hopefully to the tune of two surprise victories.

“There are so many splits in the country,” Murdoch said of the numerous teams splitting series. “I thought it was just us.”

Murdoch was not extremely worried about splitting the series with Indiana last weekend, considering the team had to overcome some adversity due to an injury in the Friday evening game.

Due to freshman defenseman Matt Szpak cutting open his arm during the game and requiring stitches, the entire team was forced to wait in the hospital parking lot until nearly 3 a.m.

Having to play the next day on very little sleep was not easy, but Murdoch was quick to point out that Iowa State would make no excuses and should have come out with the victory.

Returning to the ice after a 5-1 victory and a 4-1 loss, the Cyclones are trying to learn from mistakes and continue to do what works.

“[In the first game of the series], we were just confident and accountable,” said junior forward Jon Feavel. “We were prepared.”

Feavel noted that when the team got comfortable and confident, its good habits and fundamentals began to fade.

Szpak also said he felt the team capitalized well on chances it was given in the first game.

“We made mistakes, but we recovered well,” Spzak said of the Cyclones’ performance in the first game of the series. “We minimized their chances.”

To sweep Oklahoma this weekend, Murdoch said his team is going to need to do all these things well and execute all the little things that are easily forgotten.

“Our penalty kill has to be flawless,” Murdoch said.

With Oklahoma’s power play at 31 percent and penalty kill at 91 percent, the Cyclones will need to capitalize on every opportunity and stay focused throughout the entire series.

The Cyclones face off against the Sooners at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9. They continue the military weekend series at 8 p.m. Saturday following the ISU women’s hockey game at 5:30 p.m. at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.