After defeating Missouri 6-2 on Friday, the Cyclones hockey team returned to the ice Saturday seeking a series sweep.

Led by a hat trick from junior forward Derek Behrman, the Cyclones trounced Missouri 7-3.

The Cyclones began their first period of play scoring early and often, with three goals. The first two came from junior forward Brad Krueger, as he was able to convert the first goal with 16 minutes remaining. With 11 minutes, 28 seconds remaining, Krueger scored his second goal of the night off an assist by junior defenseman Brent Cornelius.

The Cyclones extended their lead to 3-0 when Behrman scored his first goal of the night, with 9:22 remaining.

As the second period began, the Cyclones refused to slow down and remained aggressive, tacking on two more goals.

After Missouri scored with 16:28 remaining, bringing the Cyclones’ lead to just two, Iowa State returned the favor, with 13:54 remaining, off of Behrman making his second goal of the night. Freshman forward Cort Bulloch collected a goal of his own with 5:50 remaining, extending the Iowa State lead to 5-1.

Tempers flared in the third period as Iowa State and Missouri were involved in a few minor fights. But coach Al Murdoch said it’s all part of the game.

“Hockey’s a physical game, and it’s nothing personal. Both teams play a pretty physical style of hockey and I think both teams like it, and the fans like it also.”

The aggressive play did not affect either team, however, as both scored twice in the final period.

The first goal of the period came when Behrman clinched his hat trick with 11:22 remaining. After another Missouri goal, senior forward Mike Murtaugh capped off the Iowa State scoring with a power-play goal to extend the lead to 7-2. Missouri would score one more goal to make it 7-3, which would be the final score of the night.

After the game, Cornelius, also the team’s captin, said he was very happy with the overall effort of the team, but also knew that there is more work that needs to be done.

“We just need to work on penalty killing, power plays. Also stepping up and taking the body on the D side and making sure they don’t get any room around the goal,” Cornelius said.

After a three goal performance, Behrman seemed happy with the performance of the team, but said he knows it’s still too early to say anything major about the rest of the season.

“We played good. We went out there and worked hard. It’s still early in the season, so we’re not overly organized, but I think we just kept it simple and I think that’s why we came away with the win.”