The Cyclones are coming off a weekend in which they were able to maintain their No. 5 ranking, outscoring the Eagles of Robert Morris College 14–1. Iowa State topped the Eagles 7–1 on Friday night and 7–0 on Saturday.

Of Iowa State’s 14 goals, 10 were full strength goals, three were on the power plays and one was short-handed. The way the Cyclones scored shows their depth and ability to perform well in all aspects of the game, as opposed to the bits and pieces of their attack they had been showing so far this season.

Getting their first shutout of the season was something the Cyclones had been searching for.

“I feel like we could have had a couple already, but a weak goal here and there just didn’t allow that,” said sophomore forward Cody Steele. “I definitely think the shutout was the biggest thing for us, knowing that we can do that.”

Steele, a Calgary, Alberta, Canada native and first-year player for the Cyclones, has benefitted from playing on a line with experienced players like junior forward Chris Mackay.

“I like being on Mackay’s line,” Steele said. “I felt like from day one, we just kind of gelled, and seeing guys like [forwards Brian] Spring and [Brad] Krueger, those guys who have been around the ice, their confidence and their composure kind of resonates through our lineup.”

Steele, along with freshman forward David Kurbatsky, is among a group of young players who have made an impact for the Cyclones in the early part of their careers. The older players are starting to take notice.

“Its huge,” Mackay said. “I actually have the pleasure of skating with Steele. The way he moves with me down low just makes it very easy to do our jobs, and you can’t say enough about Kurbatsky — the kid has been scoring left and right.”

Iowa State is also seeing improved play out of senior forward Pete Majkozak. Majkozak has 23 total points for the Cyclones, which ties for the team lead with Kurbatsky. Part of the improvement out of Majkozak is the fact that this is his last season in a Cyclone uniform, thus causing him to change his mind set and how he approaches his role on the team.

“I think a lot of it has to do with his experience in the World University Games,” said coach Al Murdoch. “Playing with the players that are at a higher level, playing really hard, fast and fearless. He’s playing like a senior should play.”

Other than getting the shutout, Iowa State saw other aspects of its performance emerge that the Cyclones hadn’t seen so far this season. Iowa State is starting to see contributions from all of its forwards, seeing the defense keep the puck in the zone and are cycling the puck effectively. If the team can do those small parts of the game well, it will go a long way toward keeping up its winning record.

Murdoch used 24 different players in his lineup this weekend and was pleased with the play of all 24.

“This weekend was one of the first weekends where we had everything work,” Murdoch said. “It shows on the scoreboard. One goal against on Friday and no goals against on Saturday — that’s where we want to be.”