It’s time to win or go home for the ISU men’s ice hockey team when it plays this weekend at Western Michigan University in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League Playoffs. The team holds the No. 3 seed and plays No. 6 Western Michigan in the first round of the three-round, eight-team competition.

“There’s always a sense of urgency when you’re in a win or go home situation,” said captain David Moline.

The CSCHL will have a slightly different feel than the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament, Moline said.

“It’s elevated and magnified at the [ACHA] National Tournament, because then it’s win or your season is done,” Moline said.

Because the Cyclones still have the national tournament following the CSCHL Playoffs and the games have no bearing on seeding for the ACHA competition, the CSCHL games have become more of a preview and warm-up for the national tournament.

“The CSCHL is a big step above the regular season,” said coach Al Murdoch. “The ACHA National Tournament is another step above that level. So when we’re talking about the ACHA National Tournament, that’s two huge steps above where we are now.”

The Cyclones said they feel good about their chances of playing three games in three days and winning the tournament because of the momentum from going 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. They are also coming in fresh off an emotional shootout win against the former No. 1 University of Illinois.

“I think coming off a tough series against Illinois is about the best preparation you can have,” Moline said. “We tried to treat the Illinois series as a playoff series. We pulled it out on Saturday night, so I think it’s good experience.”

They might need the confidence that they gained from the Illinois game for their second-round game in the CSCHL tournament. If No. 2 Illinois wins its first game against No. 7 Eastern Michigan, it will face the Cyclones in the second round, in a rematch of last weekend’s games. Illinois was responsible for the Cyclones quick exit in the first round of last year’s CSCHL tournament.

If the Cyclones can reproduce the effort that led them to beat Illinois in a shootout, they would advance to the finals, with No. 1 Ohio University being the likely opponent. Ohio beat the Cyclones twice earlier this season, 5-3 and 6-3.

It all has to start at the beginning, however.

Before thinking about the championship game, the Cyclones must first get past Western Michigan. Western Michigan produced one of the six Cyclone losses this season and is the host team for the CSCHL tournament, meaning it will play on its home ice.

“Anytime you go on the road and you’re playing against a team that’s at home, I don’t want to say were an underdog, but certainly it’s confidence for them,” Moline said. “They know the rink, they know the bounces and they got their fans.”

Throughout the tournament, if they keep advancing, there is a good chance the Cyclones three games will be against teams that have beaten them already.

This helped to foster some of Murdoch’s feelings about his team’s chances of winning the tournament.

“It’s a matter of a young team that’s played well all season, but now this is a brand-new season, playoff time,” Murdoch said. “The jury is still out: Are these guys capable of playing when it comes to be playoff time?”