Last week the ISU hockey team moved up to fifth in the national rankings only to fall to a lower-ranked team.

“We have something to prove to the rest of the nation,” said senior forward Derek Behrman. “We moved up to No. 5 last week and kind of blew it.”

The Cyclones will square off with the second-ranked team in the nation, Illinois. The Fighting Illini come into this weekend with two losses, both to No. 1 Lindenwood.

Iowa State is coming off a tough road series and is looking to get back on the winning track.

The Cyclones learned a lot about their team, though, and hope that will help them down the road.

“Last week we ran into a good goaltender,” said coach Al Murdoch. “Hopefully that will make us better shooters, and hopefully that will give us an advantage over Illinois.”

The Cyclones took close to 50 shots in both games last weekend and played almost a third of the game shorthanded due to penalties.

Getting good shots and staying out of the penalty box are both keys if Iowa State hopes to steal a game or two from Illinois.

“I want to decrease the number [of shots] and increase the quality of the shots we get by getting more shots off of rebounds,” Murdoch said.

The team discussed the importance of not taking unnecessary penalties.

Murdoch said he doesn’t want any penalties outside of the defensive zone. He explained that taking penalties in the offensive and neutral zones is a waste because somebody else is going to have a chance to stop him before he gets to the net.

“If we eliminate those penalties, we’ll double our productivity and we’ll be a better team,” Murdoch said.

Iowa State’s special teams have been coming along well this season, but struggled last week against Kent State.

Iowa State gave up four power play goals in the first game and only scored on one power play. In the second game, the Cyclones only gave up one power play goal.

“I feel that when our penalty kill is on, it’s one of the best in the nation,” said senior captain Brent Cornelius. “We also have to start producing on power plays. We had some chances, but we just didn’t bury them.”

One advantage the Cyclones may have over the Illini is that they play on a bigger rink.

“Playing on our ice should be an advantage for us because we have more of a chance to take them out of the play before they do us,” Cornelius said.

Iowa State will have to take advantage whenever it can, because there is a good chance the game will be as close as they have been in the past.

Last season, Iowa State was swept by Illinois in the series in two close games. In the playoffs, Iowa State eliminated Illinois with a 6–3 win.

Two seasons ago, the Cyclones led both games of the series going into the third period, but went on to lose both in overtime.

This time around the Cyclones will try to stay strong for three periods.

“We have to score when we have the opportunity,” Behrman said. “We’re not going to get a lot of opportunities, but we have to make sure we capitalize on those.”

The Cyclones hope they can pick up where they left off after the sweep of Oklahoma.

“It’s just another chance to prove that we are the No. 5 team and we can play with anyone,” Behrman said.