Cyclone Hockey will be in for a physical matchup this weekend against the Lindenwood University Lions.

The 12th-ranked Cyclones will make a road trip to St. Louis this weekend to take on conference rival, ninth-ranked Lindenwood (4-2) in a two-game series on Friday and Saturday nights.

The Cyclones, coming off a series sweep over Eastern Michigan, are up against a very physical Lions team.

“They definitely stick out in my mind as one of the most physical team we played last year,” said sophomore forward Pete Majkozak.

Coach Al Murdoch said the Cyclones, who pride themselves on their physical play, will try to match Lindenwood’s physical style of play, rather than change their style.

“We have a smaller team than they do, but it’s not really the size that matters,” said freshman forward Guy Thevenot.

“We have to make up for it with work, and that is what we are going to have to bring to the table in order to have a chance with these guys.”

In the Cyclones’ first road series, the team struggled, losing 3-2 and 9-2 against Ohio. Majkozak said they need to get used to playing on the road.

“You don’t sleep as well,” Majkozak said. “You eat well, but sleep is always a factor. The bus also takes a lot out of you, so Saturday night games are always tougher on the road than at home.”

The Cyclones, however, also feel they can be successful in road environments.

“We just have to be mentally ready,” Thevenot said. “We took a lot of penalties the first week on the road.”

Although the team showed a definite improvement last weekend in committing fewer penalties, Majkozak said they still need to improve.

“Right now, it is a little bit of laziness,” Majkozak said. “We are getting a lot of hooking penalties and holding.”

The Cyclones have also had trouble with their special teams so far this year.

“Our power play and penalty kill have not been up to where it needs to be to perform at this level, so we have devoted a lot of time to that [in practice this week],” Thevenot said.

The Cyclones seems to be more concerned with their power play than with their penalty killing, which already seemed much improved in last weekend’s performance. They have made several adjustments to make their power play run more effectively.

“We are moving the puck a lot more; we made a couple of player adjustments, and our breakout is a lot better than where it was,” Majkozak said.

“We have some set plays that we are working on and a lot of shooters that can score.”