Cyclone Hockey assistant captain Jayson Peterson had seven words for this weekend’s series against the University of Illinois.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than this.”

Two programs – storied rivals on the ice and both highly regarded on a national scale – are racing toward the same goal of winning the Central States Collegiate Hockey League. Last season, the Fighting Illini knocked the Cyclones out of the national tournament and beat them three out of the four times they played.

“This has been our biggest rivalry for years and years,” Peterson said. “When you arrive as a freshman, the first thing you learn is about how big the Illinois series is.”

With their sweep of Western Michigan last weekend, the No. 6 Cyclones (21-6-1, 7-4-1 CSCHL) have jumped into fourth place in the CSCHL standings, while No. 1 Illinois (20-2-0, 10-2-0) sits eight points behind Ohio for second place in the conference.

The Illini have held the top spot in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Top 20 poll since Nov. 3, and have shown no signs of slowing.

“They are an incredibly small and quick team,” said interim head coach Brian Wilkie.

“We may not necessarily be able to slow them down, but we need to control where we let them skate, and we have to make a physical presence on the ice.”

Illinois boasts the most efficient defense in the CSCHL, including the fewest goals allowed per game in the nation. Led by goaltender Mike DeGeorge, who has an astounding 1.92 goals-against average, the Illini have only surrendered 41 goals in 22 contests, and 20 goals in their 12 conference games.

Iowa State lost its head coach Al Murdoch last weekend when he left to serve as a general manager and scouting coordinator of Team USA at the Winter World University Games in Italy.

Illinois coach Chad Cassel is also in Italy serving as head coach for Team USA, taking five of his players with him.

“We have a great opportunity to go into their house and take at least one game from them,” Wilkie said. “I have a lot of confidence in our guys to play tough in this big road series.”

Even though the Illini have lost an entire line of players, the Cyclones know they will still face a tough team in a tough atmosphere.

“Them having five players gone still doesn’t mean much,” Peterson said. “We’re still playing at their rink, and their other lines are still strong enough to play competitively with anybody in the nation.”

The ice arena in Champaign is known for its rowdy fans, and it also contains an Olympic-sized sheet of ice, which is larger than what the Cyclones are used to playing on.

“It’s like playing in the worst conditions imaginable,” Peterson said. “Their fans sit above the glass, they will yell and scream at you, they’ll even pour beer on you. We know they will be crazy and do anything they can to rattle you.”