The Beavers may have called the first shot on paper, but it was the Cyclones’ actions that spoke louder than words in the opening game Friday night at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.

Junior forward Cort Bulloch put the Cyclones in front just four minutes into the first period on a one-timer from just behind the face off circle, putting the Cyclones up 1-0.

“That letter didn’t mean too much to me once the puck dropped,” Bulloch said. “We had an important job to do. We want big wins going into the Central States tournament next week.”

Minot State couldn’t stop the Cyclones’ early attack, as junior forward Mike Lebler put it past the goaltender from the center of the attacking zone.

The goal gave Lebler his team-leading 48th point and the Cyclones a 2-0 lead with 9:52 remaining in the first period.

The Beavers wouldn’t go down quietly, as senior forward Scott Arnold snuck a backhander past goaltender Erik Hudson, cutting the score to 2-1 with seven minutes remaining in the first period.

Iowa State answered back when freshman forward Derek Kohles put one past the goalkeeper, also from the center of the attacking zone, putting the Cyclones up 3-1 with still 4:19 remaining in the first period.

Sophomore Cody Steele, a Calgary, AB CAN native, got the Cyclones started just a 1:55 into the first period. Steele took the puck and went on a break and had his first shot blocked before putting it in off the rebound.

The Cyclones went up 4-1.

At the 13:44 mark in the second period, senior defender Brent Cornelius set up a play and fed the puck to senior forward Pete Majkozak on the wing on the goaltender’s stick side.

Majkozak deposited the puck cross-net, glove side past the goaltender, putting the Cyclones up 5-1 with the second period not even half way over.

Cornelius found his way back on to the score sheet, this time with a goal at the 8:40 mark in the second period as he fielded a deflection and then put the puck in the back of the net while falling backwards.

This goal put the Cyclones up 6-1 as they continued to pummel the Beavers with increasing viscosity.

“We played our Cyclone hockey offense,” Bulloch said. “We jumped on them early and played physical and when we play physical, were a tough team to beat. That’s an important part of our game and I hope to continue seeing our guys doing that all throughout the playoffs.”

The third period went without a goal from either team, but the damage was already done.

Balanced lines, as opposed to one or two dominant ones, has always been a feature that set the Cyclones apart and it was no different against Minot State.

Iowa State got at least one goal and an assist from each of their lines.

“That’s the key to winning games and winning national championships,” Cornelius said. “You need depth and in the past, we’ve definitely had it, but I think this team is a little bit different. The difference between black, blue, red, green, and yellow (the team’s practice line colors) is pretty thin.”

For a team described as half pit bull by coach Al Murdoch earlier in the week, the Beavers proved to be all bark and no bite.

“That was a good team,” Murdoch said. “We made them look not as good as they really are. That’s a team that has beaten a lot of highly ranked teams in the country this year. I think this is one of the first losses they’ve had in the ACHA.”