The ISU men’s ice hockey team faced off against the Alumni All-stars, a team made up of former Cyclone Hockey players, Friday and Saturday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.

The Cyclones defeated the alumni twice, but it wasn’t the sweep that made their weekend. Friday was Muscular Dystrophy Association night, with all the proceeds from ticket sales and auctioned jerseys going to the organization.

“I think it’s always fun when you can do something for MDA,” said David Moline, captain and senior defenseman. “I think the most satisfying part of the whole thing is knowing you can use your organization to help someone else out.”

Gabe Stump, a 13-year-old MDA Iowa Goodwill Ambassador, was on hand for the event. Gabe was forced into a wheelchair by muscular dystrophy, a disease that progressively weakens muscles and causes the loss of muscle tissue.

He was given the opportunity to drop the puck as part of a pregame ceremony, as well the chance to go down to the locker room after the game to meet the players and coaches. The Cyclone players took photos, gave him hockey sticks and a game-worn jersey, making Gabe’s night.

“He loves coming out to different events, and he wants to do it more,” said Kirk Stump, Gabe’s father. “He knows that he’ll never walk again, but he likes the support of the people who can be active [and] give to him.”

It wasn’t just a special night for Gabe, but also for all the players and coaches who took part in Alumni Weekend. The Alumni All-stars were given the chance to come back and square off against Cyclone Hockey after scheduled games fell through.

“The opportunity to play here this weekend is just awesome,” said Eric Tofte of the Alumni All-stars. “To come back and see the crowd and to play against Coach [Al] Murdoch is just a fun time.”

The Cyclones went into the game viewing it as a chance to have a somewhat lighter week before going to the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournaments. But the alumni weren’t content to be the punching bag for the weekend. They came out hot, surprising the Cyclones by scoring the first two goals of the game.

“I think we surprised ourselves too,” said alumnus Brent Popadych. “We went out there expecting to have a good time and just play as much and as hard as we could.”

The Cyclones turned it on after falling behind by two and rallied to win comfortably on Friday 5-3 and again on Saturday 7-1.

“It was a game that we just wanted to get our legs and a heartbeat,” Murdoch said. “Obviously the guys had to break a sweat tonight to win it.”

After playing against the Cyclones, the alumni had nothing but good things to say about this year’s squad. Both Tofte and Popadych stressed just how much the national tournament means to a season. Neither ever had the chance to call their teams national champions.

“Every year it always comes down to nationals,” Popadych said.

“Nationals are the big key here, and they have to go for a full week and play game after game, day after day.”