By Jordan Wickstrom

Daily Correspondent

After Friday’s 3-2 victory, Cyclone Hockey took to the ice eyeing a series sweep of the Missouri State Ice Bears on Saturday.

Despite a strong ISU comeback, it was Missouri State that came out victorious with a 4-2 win.

The Cyclones got off to a sluggish start defensively, surrendering three first-period goals to Missouri State. The Ice Bears’ first goal came off a power play with 11:05 remaining. Missouri State struck again with another goal at the 7:02 mark to give them a 2-0 lead. The Ice Bears extended their lead to 3-0 with their third goal of the period with 4:23 remaining.

Iowa State came out in the second period needing an offensive surge and found one in the form of two goals from junior forward Brian Spring.

The Cyclones got on the scoreboard with 18:49 remaining off an unassisted goal from Spring. The offense struck again and cut the lead to one, with Spring taking assists from junior defenseman Adam Mueller and freshman defenseman Brody Toigo in for his second goal of the period with 3:03 remaining.

The defense held Missouri State to no goals in the second period. The Cyclones scored twice, but it was a 5-on-3 on which the Cyclones failed to convert that may have swung the momentum back to the Ice Bears.

“Every time you get a 5-on-3 you definitely want to capitalize, especially in that situation,” Mueller said. “We had great shots on that, we had some great chances. Their goalie got a couple of strong saves. He kept them in it and that was definitely a turning point.”

The third period saw the Cyclones playing from a disadvantage, as they found themselves in the penalty box on numerous occasions. Although both teams had multiple power plays, neither was able to convert on them. Coach Al Murdoch said the Cyclones’ power play struggles can be blamed on one member of the opposing team.

“We ran into a hot goaltender tonight,” Murdoch said. “Missouri State’s goaltender did everything tonight except stand on his head.”

Missouri State would tack on one more goal with 1:30 remaining, making it 4-2 and clinching the game for the Ice Bears.

Despite the loss, junior defenseman Brent Cornelius remained positive about the team’s effort.

“I don’t think you can enjoy the sweet without tasting the bitter,” Cornelius said. “There’s a downside to losing, but there’s also an upside. You can learn a lot from this game. Even though we lost by two, we fought hard until the end. Our work ethic is there, but we just have to hit our shots.”

Iowa State fell to 3-1 on the season.

Cyclones win Friday:

Cyclone Hockey held on in the third period Friday night to preserve a 3-2 win in its opening game against Missouri State.

With five minutes left in the first period, sophomore forward Jordan Pascale found junior defenseman Matt Verdoni for the game’s first goal, putting the Cyclones up 1-0. About a minute later, Adam Mueller scored off a rebound, making the score 2-0.

Iowa State kept attacking, as freshman defenseman Brody Toigo found junior forward Brian Spring with a quick pass from the blue line to increase the lead to 3-0.

Missouri State answered quickly in the second period with a goal by sophomore forward Chad Dewitt, making the score 3-1. With 13 minutes remaining, the Cyclones were forced to play two down as freshman forward Cort Bulloch and sophomore forward Chris Mackay found their way to the penalty box, allowing the Ice Bears to score on a Johnny Spellman goal to make it 3-2. That was as close as Missouri State would get.