Despite suffering several losses as the season draws to a close, the ISU women’s hockey club is still clinging to the hope of a berth in the American Collegiate Hockey Association national tournament.

Assistant coach Joe McCarron said the team still hopes to go to nationals, which are held in March in Buffalo, N.Y. There are 27 teams vying for spots in the tournament.

“Only 12 teams are invited to compete in nationals, so it would be a great thing for our team,” McCarron said.

The Cyclones have many obstacles to overcome if they wish to compete in the postseason.

Their first setback came this past weekend at the hands of their division rival, Minnesota. Iowa State came away with two losses. McCarron said Iowa State (6-5-2) was well-prepared despite dropping both contests.

The Cyclones lost both games 2-0, but head coach Blake Marshall said the losses didn’t demoralize the team.

“We made a few minor errors in Friday night’s game, but we played hard,” Marshall said.

He also said one of the biggest errors in the first game was an open net goal scored against Iowa State. The teams met again on Sunday and Minnesota started out strong, scoring two goals in the first period. The Cyclones tried to come back in the second by putting up a strong defense against quick shots from Minnesota, but were unable to score any goals.

“We are just going to keep working hard,” McCarron said.

Another drawback on the road to nationals is trying to find funding for the trip. GSB funds all student clubs on campus, but each club must find funding for extra trips and competitions. The Cyclones plan on finding additional sponsors if they get invited to the competition.

Another obstacle is the shortage of women who want to play hockey and who have played hockey before.

With a small team, it is hard to account for unexpected things such as injuries.

“Strong leadership is sometimes hard to come by with a younger team,” Marshall said.

The team is led by sophomore assistant captain Erin Enger. The team’s captain, senior Katherine Dunn, is in Nashville, Tenn., on an internship.

“We miss her and her leadership skills on and off of the ice,” McCarron said.

McCarron said most of the team is planning on coaching after their college career is over, “and all we ask them is to bring hockey to wherever they are.”

Both of the team’s coaches are from Waterloo and have played hockey most of their lives.

Marshall is a police officer and volunteers to coach the club team as well as other national selected teams. McCarron is an ISU student who is taking time away from school and volunteering with the team.

The Cyclones hit the ice again when they host the University of Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Saturday and at 10 a.m. Sunday, both at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.