As many ISU students went to watch the football team’s winning season continue, a smaller but devoted group of diehard hockey fans cheered the ISU men’s hockey club to victory Saturday.

The Cyclones took their second win in a two-game series this weekend against Kent State, bringing their record to 7-2-1. Both games were decisive victories for Iowa State as the Cyclones blew past Kent State 8-2 Friday and 7-2 the following night.

“We accomplished everything I could have hoped to this weekend, playing against a good solid team like Kent State,” ISU head coach Al Murdoch said. “This weekend the players played with great enthusiasm and were unwavering all the way through.”

In Saturday’s contest, Iowa State scored two goals in the first period while completely silencing Kent State’s offense. Kent State managed to score a goal in each of the two later periods, but it wasn’t enough to come back on the Cyclones.

Murdoch said his team had more than 10 shots on goal in every period of the two games. The Cyclones outshot Kent State 61-17 Saturday.

“This weekend, we were great on the offensive,” assistant coach Brian Preston said. “We were taking a lot of shots and our power play was just excellent. Our speed was probably our main improvement. We were very quick this weekend.”

The series, which was high-scoring for the Cyclones, was also highly physical. During the second period of Saturday night’s game a Kent State player was knocked unconscious after receiving a hard blow to the head.

At the midway point of the third period Saturday, the score was 6-2 in favor of the Cyclones and Kent State’s frustration began to show. A large fight broke out, and both teams had a player ejected.

Murdoch said several ISU players had an especially significant impact on Saturday night’s game, including Travis Fast, who scored one goal and had two assists, Brendan Kidd, for his efficient goal tending, and Phil Hummel, who scored two goals and had one assist.

“Everything is really starting to come together for us as a team,” Hummel said. “We had a really great week.”

Murdoch, who has several hundred wins under his belt, said the team’s progress has impressed him so far.

“At this early point of the season we’re developmentally ahead of where I thought we’d be as a team,” Murdoch said. “With a team as young as ours to be playing so well this early in the season, it is an indication that we have a lot of great talent out there on the ice.”

Murdoch said next weekend’s series against the strong Minot State team will be exciting. Minot State is ranked third in the country and Iowa State is ranked fourth.

“I expect next weekend’s games against Minot State to be even more physical than this weekend’s with Kent State” Murdoch said. “It’s going to be a high-speed, hard-hitting contest.”