A sliding No. 5 ISU squad split a weekend series with rising No. 7 Davenport University, hopefully putting the team back on track.

The Cyclones lost Friday night 8-2, but then took home a win to end their five-game losing streak Saturday, with a final score of 5-3.

“When you have two teams ranked in the top 10 in their division, there will always be tension,” said ISU coach Al Murdoch.

Friday night, the Panthers jumped out to the lead when forward Jonathon Juliano scored the weekend’s first goal against Cyclone goalie Erik Hudson in the first two minutes of the game. Juliano came back and scored the second goal of the game, giving the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

The Panthers had sharp puck handling and crisp passes throughout the game, contrasting the sloppy passes the Cyclones slid around that allowed a power-play goal for the Panthers.

Emotions rose with two Cyclones and a Panther player getting sent to the box with roughing penalties, but the Cyclones left the opening period trailing the Panthers 3-0.

The Panthers came back just as strong in the second period and scored 40 seconds into the period, and Murdoch then replaced Hudson with sophomore Paul Karus in front of the net. Iowa State got its first goal by freshman forward Matt Rucinski less than two minutes later.

The second period saw more aggressive defense by the Cyclones, but that wasn’t enough to stop the Panthers fifth goal of the game by defenseman Jeff Slusser.

With three minutes left in the period, a massive fight between the two teams broke out on the ice. The players began swinging at each other, while jerseys and helmets were torn off. Cyclone forward Cort Bulloch left the ice injured, and five players from each team were taken out of the game.

“We don’t condone fighting, and these disagreements took away from the momentum of the game,” Murdoch said.

The last period of the game was tense, with bodies missing from each bench and the coaches imploring their remaining players to keep their cool.

“That was an emotional game,” said senior forward Mike Lebler.

The Cyclones weren’t able to hold off the Panthers, and they were allowed to score another three goals, leaving the final score at 8-2.

Saturday night, however, the Cyclones came back ready to take a win.

“We were able to fill in for the five guys not in our lineup, and this shows the depth of our team,” Murdoch said.

Freshman goalie Scott Ismond got to start in his second game of the season, and was able to block all four Panther shots in the first period.

“We knew they were coming out hard tonight; I had to be aware of tips, center it and block every pass,” Ismond said.

Trading a flurry of goals in the second period, the Cyclones went into the final frame of the weekend trailing 3-2.

The Cyclones refused to give up and scored three more goals, resulting in a Cyclone win of 5-3, despite putting just nine shots on goal.

“Cyclone hockey has some traditions,” Murdoch said. “We play hard on Saturday night, and come out with a win in the third period.”

The Cyclones (4-6-0) are going on their first road trip of the season next weekend, taking on No. 6 Illinois.

“The first road trip is always fun. It’ll be a good game,” Murdoch said.