It’s been a tale of two seasons for Cyclone Hockey.

While hot at home with a 4-0 record, Iowa State has gone winless on the road.

The No. 13 Cyclones (4-4) have an 0-4 road record, and will try to turn that around Friday and Saturday against No. 24 Western Michigan (3-2-1).

The Cyclones’ struggles can be partially attributed to the difficult competition they have faced so far on the road in fourth-ranked Ohio and sixth-ranked Lindenwood.

The players feel, however, that they should be able to play with high-level teams. Youth and inexperience probably played a role in their poor record on the road, said freshman forward Josh Rahme.

“It is nothing like I’ve ever had before. You’re sleeping on a bus and the freshmen all have to bunk up,” Rahme said.

It is not just the sleeping conditions that can cause stress for new players.

“It is a different experience,” said sophomore defender Adam Mueller. “You have to get ready for school, you have to get ahead in all your classes and get prepared. Sometimes it’s mentally straining to be away and missing classes. I think everyone is getting used to it.”

Coach Al Murdoch, however, believes the team should be past these difficulties by now.

“We aren’t going to use the excuse that we are young anymore,” Murdoch said. “We aren’t going to use the excuse that we’ve got a lot of rookies, we all have experience. This is our third road trip, we only have eight road trips all season, so we are approaching the halfway point of road travel. It is time to start showing maturity and dominating teams on the road.”

The Cyclones seem confident they can do just that.

“I think that we know what to expect so we come prepared,” Rahme said. “We don’t have a reason to be surprised about anything. We know this team is going to be a good opponent and we know we haven’t won on the road yet so I think this weekend is a must win.”

Murdoch agrees with Rahme that this weekend is important not only for building some road confidence, but also for position in the standings.

“This is a huge series this weekend, no question about it,” Murdoch said. “To win this series puts you in the upper half of the Central States League. To lose this series, I think it relegates that team to be in the bottom half of the Central States League and puts them in a hole.”

The Cyclones will play with several hindrances this weekend. Both defender Cory Aidala and forward Cort Bulloch missed practice this week with a sprained knee and the flu, respectively, but both are expected to play. Forward Brad Krueger is expected to miss the series with Western Michigan with a bruised thigh.