While sophomore forward Jordan Pascale celebrated his 21st birthday, the Broncos of Central Oklahoma celebrated their first-ever win over the Cyclones, in a final score of 3-2.

The teams came out in the first period looking evenly matched, as both were able to create numerous scoring chances and apply pressure in front of the net, but were unable to put one past the keepers in the first half of the opening period. The stalemate continued the rest of the way as the teams went into the locker room tied at 0-0. The Cyclones held a slight 11-7 shots on goal edge.

The second period was a similar story, as both teams struggled to score throughout the period. Numerous chances by the Cyclones went just wide of the goal as the Bronco’s dump-and-chase method seemed to keep the Cyclones at bay, despite the tough play in goal by sophomore Erik Hudson.

With just over nine minutes remaining in the second period, the Broncos struck first to take a 1-0 lead. Iowa State struck less than a minute later on a goal by Pascale, who was assisted by junior forward Pete Majkozak and Adam Mueller, to even the score at 1-1.

Central Oklahoma wasn’t done, however, scoring on a goal by forward Matt Cohn in the final two minutes of the second period, and the team headed into the locker room with a 2-1 lead.

The third period continued with both teams creating scoring chances but being unable to capitalize.

At the 12:00 mark, senior forward Bill Adolph led fellow lineman Mike Murtaugh, giving Murtaugh a shot right in front of the net, but Murtaugh was unable to convert. The Cyclones weren’t able to break through, as UCO forward Shawn Steggles scored with 8:28 remaining in the game, extending the lead to 3-1 and putting the Cyclones under the immense pressure of an upset.

“We had chances, using myself as an example, being a senior I need to put those away,” Murtaugh said.

Pascale wasn’t going to let the Cyclones go down without a fight, however, as he stole the puck and scored on a breakaway, putting the score at 3-2 as the game eclipsed the six minute mark.

The Cyclones were unable to muster another goal and fell in an upset to the Broncos 3-2.

Coach Al Murdoch talked to the team after the game about coming together, and acknowledged the fact that the wheels came off a little bit.

Iowa State struggled to find the puck against the dump-and-chase method.

“We struggled to find the puck, our breakouts weren’t as crisp as they were last night, and that, I think, is the main difference in the game,” Murtaugh said.

Pascale also chalked up the team’s loss to a lack of intensity.

“The mood is pretty low right now. We still have a lot we need to work o,n and we realize that. On the other hand, it’s better that this happened now instead of down the road, say, in the playoffs,” Pascale said. “We didn’t show up like we needed to; we just got outplayed.”

Iowa State came up short despite out-shooting the Broncos 39-29, something Murdoch acknowledges to the credit of the Broncos’ goalkeeper.

“Their goalie was hot,” Murdoch said. “I give all the credit in the world to Central Oklahoma. They came in and took it to us. We got to get all the guys clicking on being snipers, putting the puck in the net.”