The ISU hockey team will play the rest of this season without freshman defenseman Alec Wilhelmi.

Wilhelmi broke his arm last Friday in a game against No. 3 Lindenwood, a game the Cyclones lost 8-1. Wilhelmi said the injury will require surgery that will be done Thursday. ISU sophomore forward Shawn Crawford will step back and play defense in his place for the remainder of the season.

Halfway through the second period Friday night, Wilhelmi skated after a loose puck in the corner and was hit by a Lindenwood player. Murdoch said he tried to put his arm up and defend himself, and the impact against the boards broke the upper part of his arm. Wilhelmi said he was “kind of blindsided from behind.”

After the game, he went back to his hometown, Frankfort, Ill., with his father, who was at the game in St. Louis. He won’t recover in time for the national tournament, but ISU coach Alan Murdoch hopes Wilhelmi can recover and be even stronger for next year.

“My own son, Andrew Murdoch, broke his arm. They put in a plate with screws and it turns out it’s stronger than his other arm,” Murdoch said. “That’s our hope for Wilhelmi.”

In 33 games this season, Wilhelmi had four goals and eight assists for a total of 12 points. This ranks him 14th on the team.

Crawford, a sophomore, has played defense his whole life, including four years in juniors for the Opaskwayak Cree Nation Blizzard of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League and last season at Iowa State. Murdoch said he moved him up to forward this year to give it some extra “umph.” He also played defense Saturday night against Lindenwood in Wilhelmi’s absence.

“I feel like I’ve embraced playing forward really well,” Crawford said. “But at the same time, I’ll play wherever they want me to play.”

Crawford’s stats this season look familiar to Wilhelmi’s. In 34 games played, Crawford has four goals and 10 assists for a total of 14 points. This ranks him 12th on the team.

“I think that he’s definitely going to embrace the role,” Wilhelmi said. “His original position is defense, so I think he’s definitely going to respond well moving back to his home position.”

Crawford and Wilhelmi both think Crawford’s transition back to defense is going to be smooth and won’t take a lot of time. Murdoch said that incidents like this are why they practice with 25 or 26 guys.

“Yeah, we’ll miss him, but we can’t miss a beat,” Murdoch said. “We have to keep moving forward.”