After sweeping Kansas in its previous series last weekend, the Cyclone hockey club was hoping its success would carry over to the matches against Arizona State.

The No. 2 Sun Devils (5-0), however, had another idea for the series. Iowa State (6-2-1) started the first game of the series off with a bang, scoring two goals in the first period.

Arizona State responded with two of its own goals back-to-back, tying the game at 2-2. It was a back-and-forth battle with each team struggling to gain control of the game.

“It was good hockey,” said ISU coach Al Murdoch.

The Sun Devils began the second period with a quick goal, putting them up 3-2. The Cyclones, seeming to have lost all momentum, equalized the score when sophomore forward J.P. Kascsak found the back of the net late in the second period.

“It was a big momentum change,” Kascsak said of his goal.

After a scoreless third period, the teams headed to overtime.

Beginning overtime with a man down, which Murdoch said was a significant disadvantage, Iowa State held its own until 1:16 left in the period, when Arizona State pushed the puck past goalie Paul Karus to secure the 4-3 ASU victory.

“They knew what they were doing,” Karus said of the Sun Devils. “They made it tough on the defense.”

Arizona State came out fast in the second game of the weekend series Saturday, scoring the first goal of the match at 8:36 in the first period.

Both teams appeared physical and aggressive, vying to capitalize on every opportunity. At the end of the first period, Arizona State held a 1-0 lead.

The second period appeared relatively uneventful until the five-minute mark when Arizona State scored with their second goal of the game. The period ended with Arizona State leading 2-0.

Iowa State was on its way to a scoreless game when Antti Helanto, sophomore defense player, put the Cyclones on the board with their first goal of the match, slipping the puck past the Arizona State goalie.

The two goals for Arizona State proved sufficient,and Arizona State won the second game of the series 2-1, completing the weekend sweep.

Arizona State goalie Corey Frank stopped 22-of-23 attempts from the Cyclones, while ISU goalie Scott Ismond stopped 43 of 45 shots.

“We had our opportunities,” Murdoch said of the game.

Although the Cyclones didn’t capitalize on all of their opportunities and came up short, Kascsak wanted the team to “focus on the positives” and learn from the games against Sun Devils.

The Cyclones will attempt to bounce back when they take on the North Iowa Bulls 7:30 p.m. this Friday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.