Cyclones split weekend
January 30, 2007
This past weekend proved successful for the Cyclone women’s hockey team.
The Cyclones (5-13-1) faced a worthy competitor in ACHA Division II rival No. 3 Minot State University Beavers this past weekend. The Cyclones were able to prove themselves with an impressive win Saturday night and a close loss Sunday morning, to split the weekend series.
On Sunday morning, the Beavers (6-4-5) came to redeem themselves from the previous night’s loss, jumping on the puck first and scoring minutes into the game at 16:16. The rest of the period remained scoreless because of impressive goaltending from freshman Katie Faulds who saved 43 shots in Sunday’s game.
Minot State also dominated the second period of the game, scoring two more goals to enter the third period with a 3-0 lead over the Cyclones.
Third period play has proven to be a weakness for the Cyclones in past games, but it proved to be the opposite on Sunday. A Cyclone goal at 13:31 followed by a second score from Andrea Schippers at 8:07 cut the Beavers lead down to one.
In last minute efforts, Iowa State pulled goaltender Katie Faulds in exchange for an extra skater for an advantage over Minot State. The Beavers, however, intercepted a pass with just 19 seconds left, and Minot State scored on an empty net to win the game 4-2.
“We definitely picked it up in the third period, but it just wasn’t enough to win the game for us,” junior Abbie Lehman said.
Cyclone hockey didn’t have the same third period success on Saturday night.
The Cyclones’ quick and accurate shots brought them ahead of Minot State 2-0 after the first period.
They maintained control during the second period, thanks to freshman Dominique Lind scoring her third goal of the night, extending their lead over Minot State 4-0 going into the final period. Lind’s goal gave her a hat-trick for the second weekend in a row.
The Cyclones, however, showed weakness in the third period.
The Beavers came out strong, scoring at 16:09 and followed up by scoring two more unanswered goals late in the period to close the Cyclones lead to 4-3.
“The third period was theirs [Minot State],” said Cyclone coach Joe McCarron. “They controlled the puck and had the third period.”
The Beavers pulled their goalie for a one man advantage over the Cyclones, but Iowa State was able to maintain the zone and came out with the win 4-3.
“I think sometimes it’s hard for us to stay in the game,” Lehman said. “We have little letdowns, but we were able to pull it off tonight.”
It was the first time the Cyclones faced the Beavers, and the weekend split is a definite confidence booster for the team.
“They weren’t what we expected at all and it’s great to have the win against them,” Lind said.
