Cyclone Hockey had another winning weekend, as it swept the University of Iowa Icehawks 10-0 on Friday at home, and 12-5 Saturday on the road in Cedar Rapids. The wins push their record to a conference-leading 12-2.

Last weekend’s games marked the first time in ACHA history in which the two teams met on the ice for the in-state rivalry. That fact definitely caught the interest of fans on campus, as the biggest crowd of the season packed into the Ames/ISU Ice Arena for the contest.

“The last time we had a big crowd like that was at nationals two years ago,” said goalkeeper Trent Baker. “It’s always nice to play in front of a packed house, so hopefully more fans keep showing up.”

The huge crowd that came and supported Cyclone Hockey was not disappointed in the way its team performed, as the Cyclones came out flying and full of energy. The Icehawks, though, were able to stay with the team for the majority of the first period. No matter how many shots the Cyclones got, they could not put it past the Iowa goaltender.

“62 shots, I mean that’s a heck of a lot of shots to save in one game,” Baker said. “The shots we had were quality and I give him a lot of credit. He played good and kept them in there for the first period.”

The team out-shot the Icehawks 18-5 in the first period, and 62-18 overall, making shots on goal the difference in the game. Iowa was able to keep the game knotted at zero until the law of probability finally took hold. A goal by freshman Trent Graham with 3:28 left in the first period gave the Cyclones a lead they never relinquished. Less then a minute later Iowa State struck again, as Trevor Graham gave the Cyclones a 2-0 lead.

Quick scoring is nothing new to this year’s team. Twice on Friday and once on Saturday, they scored two goals in less than a minute. Freshman forward Joe Balsimo was part of one of those quick scores. That goal was one of three on the night for Balsimo, whose hat trick helped propel the team to double digits in goals.

“It feels pretty good,” Balsimo said. “It was one of those nights where you’re just in the right spot at the right time.”

Another big part of the weekend was the shutout by Baker on Friday night. It was his third shutout of the year, and the fifth by an ISU goaltender on the season.

“I think that’s got to be a Cyclone record,” said coach Al Murdoch. “In the 35 years I’ve been here, I don’t think we’ve had five shutouts in a season.”

For Saturday’s game they traveled to Cedar Rapids to play Iowa on its home turf. The two teams combined for 23 penalties, but Iowa State was able to rout the Icehawks again 12-5 behind a hat trick by Mike Murtaugh.

The Cyclones will next play Minnesota in Des Moines at the Metro Ice Sports Arena, home of the Bucs.