A shortage of players and complete exhaustion couldn’t keep the ISU women’s hockey club from rolling to two straight victories over Minnesota last weekend in Minneapolis.

The Cyclones shut out a talented Gophers’ club at Mariucci Arena by scores of 3-0 and 2-0. The Gophers have a renowned team with a large talent pool, passing many Division I players back and forth from club to varsity status.

“We played really well,” said assistant coach Mike Owen. “We were skating only two lines, and it shows the heart those young ladies demonstrated in those games. Beating Minnesota speaks highly of their abilities.”

A normal team skates between three to four lines on offense and defense.

Iowa State could only provide numbers for two, but still pulled off the upset.

Owen said his players’ exhausting amounts of playing time made for a quiet ride home.

“Normally on the way to games, the girls are very chatty and energized, [but] it’s usually very quiet on the way back,” Owen said.

Much of the Cyclones’ success was due to the play of goalie Justine Skibbe, junior in materials engineering, who was “absolutely fabulous,” Owen said. “Her goal work kept us in both games and [she] afforded us the opportunity to win.”

Center/defensewoman Kara Thompson, sophomore in biology, accounted for nearly all the Cyclones’ points as she scored twice in each game, with defensewoman Erin Enger, sophomore in English, contributing one goal in the first contest.

Owen praised his team’s aggressiveness and willingness to give up the puck.

“We were very aggressive and made good passes,” Owen said. “We are essentially improving every game and practice.”

Although it may not seem so, Owen said his team still needs to work on getting back in sync after a long semester break.

“We also need to work a bit better on power plays. We need to be a bit more organized on our breakouts and attend to the points better when in our defensive zone,” Owen said.

The squad travels to Lindenwood in St. Louis this weekend, then to Wisconsin-Stout the next. A win over Lindenwood should be enough to give the team a bid to nationals.

Owen said he would like to see some new members take some pressure off his often overworked squad.

“We would always like new girls to help the numbers,” Owen said.

“But right now we’re just keeping the intensity high and having fun,” he said.