More than 700 people were ready for game time at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena on Friday, 20 minutes before the Iowa-Iowa State matchup even started. It was the highest attended game of the season, and the Cyclones used the crowd’s energy to their advantage in a lopsided 10-2 win.

“It was like having an extra man on the ice,” said coach Al Murdoch.

Mike Murtaugh had a hat trick, and all three of his goals were assisted by Bill Adolph.

“It just seemed like we had a little bit of extra time so we could make better decisions faster. It’s real nice when you get the connection going. It’s almost like magic,” Adolph said.

Murtaugh echoed Adolph’s thoughts.

“I really don’t know what it is, but after we started playing together last year, it’s like I know where he is and he knows where I am. We just have this chemistry and I don’t know how to explain it but it just happens,” Murtaugh said.

Freshman defenseman John Prodaniuk put in his first two goals in his Cyclone hockey career Friday.

“I was the first one to be surprised as, well, I’m not usually the one scoring. I’m usually the puck-moving defenseman out of the zone. But seeing my name on the score sheet once is surprising, so I guess two would be amazing,” Prodaniuk said.

The game started out very physically, with the puck changing sides quickly and often. Most of the pressure early in the first period was applied by Iowa State, but the Hawkeyes wouldn’t back down as they fought off the Cyclone attacks. The game remained scoreless as it passed the halfway mark in the first period.

Adolph broke the scoreless streak when he got the puck on a breakaway and scored in acrobatic fashion, slipping on the ice, avoiding the defender, relocating the puck and beating the goalie’s glove side to put the team up 1-0.

With a little under three minutes remaining in the first period, the Cyclones went up 2-0 on a goal by freshman defenseman Aaron Jakubic. A minute later, Adolph found fellow senior Murtaugh to put the Cyclones up 3-0 and take all the momentum from the Hawkeyes as the first period came to a close.

Fewer than five minutes into the second period, Adolph made his presence felt again as Murtaugh returned the favor from earlier, passing the puck to Adolph from behind the net to give the Cyclones a 4-0 lead.

The Adolph and Murtaugh show continued a few minutes later when sophomore forward Mike Lebler found Adolph on a behind-the-back pass from his knees, who then dumped it off to Murtaugh for the goal, pushing the lead to 5-0 not even midway through the second period.

With seven minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the second period, Adolph found Murtaugh for his hat trick goal, putting the score at 6-0.

Prodaniuk pushed the lead to 7-0 with 4 minutes left in the period and junior defenseman Brad Krueger made it 8-0 seconds later and would end the second period with that score.

With the game already in hand by the time the third period started, Murdoch and the Cyclones refused to let up. It didn’t take long for the Cyclones to go up 9-0 on a goal by junior forward Brian Spring.

With 6:38 remaining in the game, Murdoch pulled starting goalie Eric Hudson and put in Jim Stenson. Unfortunately for the Cyclones and Stenson, the Hawkeyes quickly put in their first goal of the game at the hands of senior center Kyle Jacobson.

The Cyclones, however, weren’t done, as Prodaniuk scored his second goal of the game, extending the lead to 10-1 in the final minutes of the game.

The Hawkeyes would squeeze out one more before the game ended in a 10-2 blowout.

With the win, Iowa State improved to 22-2 on the season.

“Our team is playing defense really well, we’re passing really well, and we’re shooting really well. Our goaltending is solid from top to bottom, and that’s what it’s all about,” Murdoch said.