The Cyclones return home to the Ames/ISU Ice Arena this weekend after spending the last two in Oklahoma and Maryland, respectively.

After sweeping the Navy Thanksgiving Tournament in Annapolis, Md., the team is preparing for a two-game series with No. 12 Ohio.

“Right now, we’re sitting pretty well,” senior forward Bill Adolph said. “There are still a lot of points out there that are unaccounted for. We need to get all the points we can, starting this weekend with them.”

While the Bobcats have a less-than-impressive 9-6 record, they have done so playing a very difficult schedule. Iowa State will not provide any relief for them.

“I feel our coaching staff has our guys prepared. We’re playing some of our best hockey right now,” said head coach Al Murdoch. “Around Thanksgiving time, when there is no classes, we go back to two-a-days [practices] and not many teams do that. It started to show at the Thanksgiving tournament.”

Murdoch was not shy about giving Ohio credit for the talent it has and the challenges it presents for the Cyclones, saying that the team features a great coach, exceptional athletes and a goalie who is going to the World University Games.

Since 1958, Ohio Hockey has won more than 65 percent of its games and brought three national championships to the program.

As the regular season is entering the home stretch, teams are jockeying for seedings in post-season tournaments. Iowa State is trying not to worry about what its ranking is.

“I think the players and the coaching staff tend to look ahead a little bit at the whole season. I don’t know why we’re not in the top four, I think we should be,” Murdoch said. “We’re playing well and we’ll continue to play well, we won’t worry too much about rankings and all that right now.”

With the Bobcats heading into the matchup ranked No. 12, the Cyclones feel they are not opponents to be overlooked.

“They travel well,” Murdoch said. “I’m expecting a tough series this weekend. We’re playing good now, but we definitely don’t want to underestimate them just because they are ranked 12th. They’ve slipped down in the rankings a little bit since the start of the season because of the losses, but they are still one of the best top 10 teams in the country.”

In Murdoch’s 40-year run as head coach, the Cyclones have won 20 games before Christmas only a handful of times.

The Cyclones are ranked No. 7 in the ACHA and their record is currently set at 19-4-1. The last time Iowa State won the Thanksgiving tournament, the team went on to win the national championship.