Friday, the Cyclones came out strong and decisively handled the Huskies. Saturday, the tables were turned.

Matthew Johnson and Calvin Richardson had two goals apiece as the St. Cloud State Huskies defeated the Cyclones 4-2 at the ISU/Ames Ice Arena on Saturday night.

Unlike Friday’s affair, the Huskies came out with a lot more intensity and speed. The Cyclones handled the nervous bunch in a six-goal win Friday, but had their hands full Saturday against a much-improved squad.

The Cyclones peppered Huskies goalie Kyle Miller with 43 shots, but couldn’t convert enough to come out on top.

“We showed our youth tonight,” said Cyclone coach Al Murdoch. “Give them credit. They came in with more spirit and willpower than we did tonight.”

Physical play dominated the tightly contested match. The teams combined for 14 penalties, including three game-misconduct penalties. Both teams struggled to convert on special teams, however, as Iowa State tallied the lone power-play goal in the third period.

After a scoreless first, the Cyclones had a two-man breakaway opportunity, but mishandled the puck and failed to score. ISU freshman goaltender Scott Ismond started Saturday’s match and looked strong through the first period, but a breakaway goal by Richardson with less than a minute to play put the Huskies up by one.

“He snuck in behind the defense and made a nice shot,” Ismond said. “I was a little nervous being my first start as a freshman. It was a good experience.”

The Huskies came out of the gate quickly in the final period. Richardson scored his second goal of the contest two minutes in, carrying the puck to point-blank range, faking right and dumping the puck into the open net when Ismond bit on the fake.

“It was a poor decision on my part,” Ismond said.

The teams exchanged goals midway through the third. Sophomore defenseman Justin Wilkinson scored on the power play for the Cyclones. Defenseman Shawn Crawford’s shot was blocked by St. Cloud State, but Wilkinson gathered the loose puck and fired top shelf past Miller for the goal, making it a 2-1 game.

“It just sort of came to me off the deflection and I knew what to do,” Wilkinson said .

St. Cloud State answered with a goal of its own. Johnson scored his first of the night unassisted, a wrist shot that got by Ismond’s glove side.

After a Brian Rooney goal made it 3-2 with six minutes to play, the Cyclones failed on a power-play opportunity to tie with five minutes left to go.

A key decision by coach Al Murdoch put the game on ice for the Huskies. With less than two minutes to go and the Cyclones down a goal, Ismond was waiting for the signal to be pulled. With less than a minute left, Ismond headed for the bench.

Simultaneously, the Huskies intercepted a Cyclone pass, and Johnson found himself on the blue line with no goalie in front of him. Ismond looked behind him in despair as Johnson deposited the puck in the back of the net to seal the victory.

“We were looking to pull him with 1:10 or so to go,” Murdoch said. “The pass was intercepted, and Ismond was just out of position. It was a tough break.”

Pulling the goalie gives that team an extra skater, but also leaves a wide-open net for the opponent.

“It was quite unfortunate because I was stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Ismond said. “We just didn’t get the breaks and bounces our way tonight.”

St. Cloud State coach Daniel Heinzen thought his team came out nervous Friday, but Saturday it settled down.

“We came out harder and faster tonight,” Heinzen said. “The physical play was key. We doubled our shot total, which had a big impact. It was a good series.”

Murdoch thought his players played well, but knows the season is young.

“We just didn’t have the edge tonight,” Murdoch said. “We seldom lose on a Saturday, but we’re not in game shape yet. We’ll bounce back.”

The Cyclones’ next game is home versus the University of Central Oklahoma on Friday at 7:30 p.m.