No. 7 Cyclones gearing up for rematch against No. 4 Lindenwood
February 2, 2012
The No. 7 ISU hockey team will be in St. Louis on Friday and Saturday for a pair of grudge matches against No. 4 Lindenwood.
The Cyclones (24-6-5) last met the Lions (24-5-0) on Dec. 2 and 3 in Ames. The Lions swept the series with scores of 4-3 in a shootout on Friday and 2-1 on Saturday.
The Cyclones are still on top of the Central States Collegiate Hockey League with 76 points with the Lions right behind them with 69 points. Once again, ISU coach Al Murdoch said the Cyclones are going in just how he likes to go in, as the underdog.
“I enjoy being an underdog in any sport, in anything,” Murdoch said.
The Lions’ leading goaltender, Henry Kent has a .900 save percentage but only allows 1.81 goals per game on average.
“He’s going to make all the initial stops, so we have to be there for the rebounds,” Murdoch said. “We did not do that against Robert Morris, we must do that against Lindenwood.”
Last weekend the Cyclones split a two-game series against No. 9 Robert Morris (Ill.), winning 5-2 on Friday and losing 6-4 on Saturday. The Lions swept No. 22 Kent State last weekend and are currently on a 12-game winning streak.
Something that Lindenwood does once they have a lead in any game is go into “the trap,” which forces opposing forwards to the outsides with the puck and can create easy turnovers.
Murdoch said they have run into this the last several times they’ve played Lindenwood, and that it’s more prevalent in the NHL.
Lindenwood coach Rick Zombo played 13 seasons in the NHL with the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins. Lindenwood assistant coach Ted Sator was an assistant coach and head coach in the NHL for 12 seasons.
ISU forward James Buttermore, who was named player of the week with two goals and two assists in two games against Robert Morris, feels good about facing the trap since they have faced it and beaten it already this season.
“We faced that with Illinois as well, it’s just about exposing it and finding the right lanes,” Buttermore said. “We did a good job against it against Illinois.”
