Andrew Murdoch could feel it.

Phil Hummel just wanted to get a win for the seniors.

And four of Iowa State’s players competed earlier in the day hundreds of miles away.

All those factors combined for a dramatic come-from-behind victory Saturday for the ISU men’s hockey team.

Down 5-3, the Cyclones scored three goals in a span of 1:02 in the third period and went on to defeat Robert Morris, of Chicago, 6-5 in front of a packed and enthusiastic crowd at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.

Saturday night was also senior night as Murdoch, Jeff Smith and Kevin Koski played their last regular season home game.

ISU head coach Alan Murdoch said the win is tops on his list of victories. His son, Andrew Murdoch — along with Travis Fast, Travis Denzel and Mike Moren — played in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) All-Star game in Chicago the afternoon prior to the dramatic nightcap.

“My son, I’m so proud of him. It’s unbelievable. He played two games today. So did Fast, Denzel and Moren. Those people didn’t know it,” Murdoch said. “They played in the All-Star game in Chicago and they were stars there. They wanted to be here, they wanted to suit up and they wanted to play. They were a tremendous motivation to the rest of the team.”

Jim Licka’s goal with 15:03 of the third period put the Eagles up 5-3. But that was when the Cyclones (26-16-2) would go on their streak.

Tom Klidzejs fired a slap-shot that hit the left goal post and managed to go in the net as Iowa State drew within a goal with 8:42 left in the period.

Just 34 seconds later, Fast tied the game on a slap-shot in which Moren and Andrew Murdoch provided the assists. After a Robert Morris timeout, Hummel captured the game-winner unassisted with 7:40 left in the period.

Hummel, one of the ISU assistant captains, called the clinching goal a lucky one.

“I was behind the net and I saw my line mate, Zach Petersen, and he was in front of the net,” Hummel said. “Actually, I was trying to pass the puck to him and it went off the back of the goalie’s leg. I looked up and the puck was at the back of the net. I couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t the best goal I’ve had but it did the job.”

Hummel said the game was a big one for the team and they all wanted to send the seniors out on a good note.

“Robert Morris is a real strong team. Tonight was senior night, so all the guys were going hard after we had the deficit,” Hummel said. “Before the third period, we went to the locker room and said, ‘Guys, lets go out there and win it for the seniors.’ [Andrew] Murdoch played big, Smith had some big hits and Koski played hard. We turned it on in the third and got it done.”

Saturday’s win was nearly identical from the Feb. 7 contest at St. Louis University in which Iowa State was down 7-5 with less then three minutes left to win it 8-7.

“It was kind of like two weeks ago against St. Louis. It was the same kind of a deal. We were down two with three minutes left. Whenever we get within one goal, I get this feeling that we were going to put it off,” Andrew Murdoch said. “I had the same feeling tonight, When we made it 5-4, I was like ‘we’re going to win this game.’ “

Iowa State and Robert Morris ended the first period tied at 3-3. Brent Popadych scored two goals in the period and Petersen tallied the other goal. The Eagles outshot the Cyclones 36-29 overall in the game and were a dismal 0-for-6 on the power play. Iowa State goalie Brendan Kidd made 25 saves.

In Friday’s night game, Iowa State was down 3-0 before scoring two late third-period goals. It was not enough though, as the Cyclones were defeated 3-2.

“We came back too little, too late. The game just ended too early. If it lasted another five minutes, we would have won it, too,” Alan Murdoch said. “We weren’t as sharp as we should be in the first period [Saturday]. From there on out, we got better. You could tell the comeback was there. This was a great win for us.”