An unfamiliar face will be behind the home bench at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena this weekend, as interim head coach Brian Wilkie is set to guide the Cyclone Hockey team in its home conference series against Western Michigan this weekend.

The sixth-ranked Cyclones (19-6-1, 5-4-1 CSCHL) will be without head coach Al Murdoch and dynamic junior Allen Raushel for the next three weekend series, as they will both be traveling to Torino, Italy to represent Team USA in the World University Games.

Murdoch and Wilkie have worked together in the past, as Wilkie was an assistant under Murdoch when he served as head coach of Team USA at the 2001 World University Games.

“Coach Wilkie has coached with me before and has twelve years of experience in the ACHA,” Murdoch said. “So I’m confident with him leading the team. It’s been a whirlwind for him, but he’s done an excellent job so far. He’s excited to be here, and we’re excited to have him.”

Wilkie has been with the team since Jan. 1 and is looking forward to taking a step up with this position with the Cyclones.

“This is definitely an exciting thing for me,” said Wilkie, who comes Ames from his head coaching position at North Dakota State. “I am very happy that coach Murdoch came to me with this opportunity.”

Wilkie was thrown into the mix as soon as he arrived in Ames, and has been able to get involved with the team in hopes of making a smoother transition for the players.

“This will be a little different for both me and the players,” Wilkie said. “But I was fortunately able to be with the team for last weekend’s games, and coach Murdoch has let me run practice and talk a lot to the players this week so they get used to the change.”

Wilkie will lead the Cyclones for the next six games, all of which are match-ups against teams ranked 11th or higher in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Top 20 poll.

The Cyclones will be presented with their first challenge when conference foe No. 11 Western Michigan (17-9-1, 5-6-1) visits Ames this weekend.

Despite their record, the Stallions are winless in their last five contests and were swept by Oakland University last weekend, a team that Cyclones swept in late October.

Western Michigan has also seen mediocre production in limited action on the road, going 4-4 in just eight road contests this season.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Cyclones are winners of eight of their last nine and are looking to keep their four-game win streak alive, even without a captain and their legendary head coach.

“This team has a lot of depth,” Wilkie said. “You can’t replace a player like Allen, but there’s so much talent to work with and I’m confident that everybody will step up with him gone.”

Game times for this weekend are set for 7:30 p.m. Friday and 3:30 p.m. Saturday.