In the game of hockey, power-play goals can become a big key to a team’s success.

On Friday night, Ohio University found that out firsthand.

Behind Frank Kubas’ three goals and four Ohio power-play goals, the Bobcats went on to defeat the ISU men’s hockey club 5-3 on Friday night in a Central States Collegiate Hockey League contest.

Prior to the contest, Iowa State had won six straight games.

“There were a lot of power-play goals. I don’t normally say it, but the officials had an impact on the game,” ISU head coach Alan Murdoch said. “I think we were better than the score indicated tonight. Ohio is always a good team and they’re well-coached. They play hard and they’re a fun team to play against. I think in general they’re a crowd-pleaser.”

The Cyclones found the net early in the first period as sophomore defensiveman Tom Bass scored at the 2:07 mark on assists from Andrew Murdoch and Travis Daniel.

Later in the period, Kubas scored his first goal with 9:50 remaining in the period off a feed from Brad Krolak. Kubas made the score 2-1 late in the period on the first Ohio power-play goal. But Iowa State answered right back as Bass scored his second goal in the night unassisted at the 18:10 mark.

It was the second period, however, that hurt the Cyclones the most.

After Andrew Murdoch was called for a penalty with 15:56 remaining, Brian Roberts tallied a goal to make it 3-2. At the 5:34 mark, Iowa State was called for a five-minute misconduct penalty. That penalty led to two very quick goals, one by Kubas and the other from Ryan Walicki.

The three power-play goals led to a quick timeout by Coach Murdoch.

“Boy, the puck wasn’t bouncing for Iowa State but it was bouncing for them. We got a few penalties and they got two goals in that major penalty and those hurt,” Coach Murdoch said. “After the time-out, the guys responded and played well. From that point on, [Darren] Helmkamp played really well in the net and the defense played really well. I thought the second half of the second period, we played really solid hockey.”

Iowa State added a goal in the third period from Brent Popadych. In that period, the Cyclones outshot Ohio 17-3.

“Our guys bounced back. Ohio didn’t score after the timeout,” Coach Murdoch said. “I thought we had them on the ropes when it was 2-2.”

In Saturday’s game, Ohio jumped out early and defeated Iowa State 6-3. Tony Arkeilpane scored the first goal for Ohio at the 12:08 mark. The Bobcats added a late goal in the period.

Only 52 seconds into the second period, Ohio scored on a 3-on-1 play. Arkeilpane recorded his second goal of the night on a power-play goal.

The Cyclones got on the board off a rebound from Trent Mozak with 11:01 remaining. But the Bobcats answered quickly to make the score 5-1.

The Cyclones scored two goals in the third period, one from Travis Fast and another from Tony Daniels. Iowa State had four penalties in the game.

“Tonight we got some penalties. After the second period, we get all fired up for the third period and we go out and do what we’re supposed to do,” Bass said. “It seem like once we got down, we got motivated. The second period killed us both games.”

Coach Murdoch said both teams were evenly matched in Saturday’s game.

“They finished off a little bit better then we did on goals. Our guys didn’t give up and they didn’t quit. They kept playing hard and playing strong,” Coach Murdoch said. “We still have a pretty youthful team. I thought our defense is playing good physical series. Our goaltending made some big games whey they had too to keep us in the game.”

With the two losses, the Cyclones are 15-10-1 overall and 2-5-1 in the CSCHL. This Friday and Saturday, they will be playing host to the University of Minnesota.

“We’re going to regroup. We’re looking forward to a sweep next weekend,” Andrew Murdoch said. “It’ll be good for the fans to come out on Friday and Saturday. Minnesota always brings the biggest crowds those nights. It should be a good one.”