In hockey, both teams during a given game will commit penalties and give the other team a man advantage. Lately, No. 8 Iowa State has been on the penalty kill more than the power play.

“I don’t mind taking penalties occasionally for hitting too hard, but not some of the stuff we took penalties for — hooking, roughing, interference, holding,” said coach Al Murdoch.

The Cyclones (5-9-0) committed six penalties in a 4-1 loss on Friday and another six in a 5-1 loss on Saturday. Ohio capitalized, notching a power-play goal Friday and three more for the easy victory Saturday.

“We just took too many penalties,” said freshman Kyle Van. “When we made mistakes, they capitalized. They wanted it more.”

The young Cyclones have been struggling all year on special teams. An inability to score with the man advantage and the difficulties of clearing the puck and preventing the opposition to score on the power play has plagued Iowa State.

“We had some bad breakdowns,” said freshman Shawn Crawford. “We just need to settle down. We are rushing our passes, which create turnovers. It felt like we were holding on to our sticks too tight.”

Mental mistakes have hurt at times. The offense had problems developing plays inside the zone and creating scoring chances. Ohio outshot Iowa State 31-24 on Friday and 32-22 on Saturday.

“Their goalie is a solid goalie, but I’m not sure if he even had to shower tonight,” Murdoch said after Saturday’s defeat.

Chemistry has also been an issue. With so many new faces this year, knowing where players are on the ice has been a challenge to develop.

“There’s just not a lot of communication out there,” said senior Mike Lebler, who scored the only goals for the Cyclones this weekend, both on the power play. “We’re just doing some wrong things, not playing smart.”

Murdoch was visibly upset after two rough losses. After declining to comment Friday, he said Saturday that, along with a “Black Monday,” practice this week would focus on the basics.

“I’ll demand that our coaches work on basic fundamental skills, which right now seem to be lacking,” Murdoch said. “Simple skills like passing and shooting. So we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

It’s harsh criticism for a team struggling to find its groove. After splitting a series against Davenport University, the Cyclones hit the road and came away from the University of Illinois with another series split. But this weekend, the defending Central States Collegiate Hockey League champion Ohio University showed, Murdoch said, why they are defending league champs.

“They beat us fair and square,” Murdoch said. “Our guys got to see what a defending CSCHL champion is like.”

Iowa State did not score an even-strength goal in either game. Ohio outscored the Cyclones 9-2 in the two games.

The losses are starting to pile up for the Cyclones. Still below .500, Iowa State travels to Kent State University next weekend before heading back to Ames to face Indiana University. Despite the woeful outcomes, the guys still believe in themselves and the talent around them.

“You know, it’s really just staying focused but keeping things light,” said junior Brian Rooney. “I think at times it’s really easy to think things are going down the toilet, but at the end of the day we just got to come back and keep playing hockey.”

Freshman Chris Cucullu said that while some minds aren’t in the best place right now, the ability to change that is there.

“We can definitely turn things around if we put our mind to it,”Cucullu said. “You know, really put in the effort.”

Murdoch knows his team. He knows he has a lot more youth than in years past, so he is stressing to his team to play smart, team hockey.

“Don’t worry about the extraneous stuff, just focus on basic fundamental skills right now,” Murdoch said. “Because until those get better, the other things won’t get better.”