The No. 10 Cyclone Hockey team looked primed and ready to face No. 9 Illinois as the puck was dropped to begin the game on Friday night. 

The Fighting Illini came out physical and aggressive to start the game and would continue that trend throughout the match. Iowa State matched that aggressiveness, scoring its first goal at 11:15 in the first period on a shot from junior forward Jon Feavel.

Illinois answered with two goals of its own at 17:07 and 19:05, each on power plays, taking the lead 2-1 to finish out the first period. ISU goalie Paul Karus saved 12 of 14 shots in the first, while Illinois goalie Nick Clarke saved eight of nine shots.

Iowa State came out quick in the second period, scoring on a deep shot from Antti Helanto at 3:34. Illinois once again answered the Cyclone’s goal with two goals of its own, scoring at 7:28 and 11:53 to lead to 4-2.

Karus stopped five of seven shots in the second period before being replaced by Scott Ismond, who stopped all four shots he saw.

The Cyclones started the third period off with a bang, scoring two goals at 2:16 and 3:10, evening the score at 4-4. The Fighting Illini came back with a goal at 7:39 and an empty net goal with 19 seconds left in the game.

The Cyclones would lose 6-4.

The Cyclones will be back in action against the Fighting Illini on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.