The closeness between No. 12 Iowa State and No. 13 Arizona State in the American Collegiate Hockey Association poll mirrored their evenness on the ice during the weekend as the teams managed a split in their two games.

Friday night’s game, held at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena, was a hard fought contest. Iowa State got off to a slow start, allowing Arizona State to take an early 1-0 lead just over 10 minutes into the game.

Iowa State seemed to awaken in the second period when Alan Raushel scored a power play goal eight minutes in to tie the score at 1-1. Two minutes later, Travis Fast scored for the Cyclones, giving them a short-lived 2-1 lead.

But Arizona State immediately took advantage of an ISU penalty and scored on the power play to make it 2-2.

The third period was evenly matched except for one moment, five minutes into the period. On another power play, Arizona State scored, making it 3-2. They held on to win by that score.

Assistant Coach Marc Rogers, who joined the coaching staff last weekend, said it was a hard fought game.

“There was a lot of bumping, lots of physical play. It’s tough for anyone to lose this game,” Rogers said.

Saturday night’s game was played in the Buccaneer Ice Arena in Urbandale, and the Cyclones came out ready for a fight. Nearly 2,000 fans packed the arena to watch the Cyclones control the Sun Devils from the opening drop.

Alan Raushel scored his second and third goals of the series, and added an assist for the Cyclones. His efforts, along with the rest of his team, led to a Cyclone domination and a crucial 5-3 win.

“This was a great opportunity for us, to expand our fan base and show everyone what Cyclone hockey is all about,” Moren said. The team will travel to Urbandale again in February for a series against Davenport University.

This weekend, the Cyclones will play host to up and coming Oklahoma. Friday’s game will be at 7:30 p.m., and the puck will drop at 9 p.m. Saturday.