Eight of the nation’s best teams will assemble in Athens, Ohio this weekend to battle for the title in what is arguably the toughest conference in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) tournament will feature eight teams, all of which are ranked in the ACHA’s Top 20 poll.

The No. 6 Cyclones (26-8-2, 11-6-1 CSCHL) are well aware that each team has plenty of talent, including the No. 8 seed Michigan-Dearborn, who swept the Cyclones earlier this season.

“It’s anybody’s tournament,” said junior assistant captain Jayson Peterson.”To us the seeds don’t really matter, because we know every team there has a chance to beat anybody on any given night.”

The Cyclones grabbed the tournament’s No. 4 seed, meaning they will face off against No. 5 seed Kent State (26-11-1, 9-11-0), whom the Cyclones dismantled 7-1, 11-4 during a sweep in Ames last weekend.

“Last weekend we set a precedence with Kent State,” said Peterson. “We already showed them that we’re going to play physical and we can dominate every aspect of the game and it just turns into a nine period game now.”

The Cyclones and the Golden Flashes play the first opening round game of the tournament – a 9 a.m. face-off at the Bird Arena.

The other opening round matches will feature No. 3 Lindenwood against No. 6 Robert Morris at noon, No. 2 Illinois and No. 7 Eastern Michigan at 3 p.m., and the tournament’s host, No. 1 Ohio, against No. 8 Michigan-Dearborn at 6:30 p.m.

Along with the recent offensive resurgence, the Cyclones will try to ride the superior play of goaltender Trent Baker for the rest of the season. The senior has allowed just 16 goals in the past seven games he’s played, six of those games coming against three of the nation’s top 10 teams.

The last two weekends have seen the Cyclones outscore conference opponents 27-6, and they don’t expect much to change once they step on the ice in Athens.

“We have four outstanding lines, and all of them are healthy,” said coach Al Murdoch.

“I still feel that we have yet to peak, and so do the players. If we keep the same momentum, same pressure and the same physical style of play, we’ll continue to improve and be in great shape.”