The No. 4 Cyclones faced the No.1 Lindenwood Lions in the second game of their American Collegiate Hockey Association top five and Central States Collegiate Hockey League matchup. The Lions swept Cyclone Hockey, winning 2-1 in a shootout Friday and 5-3 on Saturday. The Lions clinched the conference title after their win over the Cyclones on Friday.

Limited Opportunities

One problem that stuck with the Cyclones throughout the weekend was their limited scoring opportunities. The Lions spent most of both games with the puck, and when the Cyclones managed to gain control of the puck, they weren’t able to do as much as they hoped.

“They’re the No. 1 team in the nation, they don’t give [the puck] up very easily,”  said senior forward Tony Uglem. “They keep pressure on us, so it’s tough to get the puck out and even tougher to set up offense when they’re coming at you that quick.”

Throughout the weekend, the Cyclones managed 52 shots on net and the Lions saved 48 of those shots, whereas the Lions managed 76 shots on net and the Cyclones saved 70 of those shots.

The Cyclones also struggled on the power play, as they converted one power play out of five power play opportunities during the weekend.

Playing Smart

Despite the outcomes, the Cyclones showed discipline throughout the weekend. The Cyclones managed to commit only one penalty through both games. They committed the one penalty during Saturday’s game and managed to kill it off, going one-for-one on the penalty kill.

Avoiding the box made it so the Lions would rarely ever be able to play with the man advantage. The Lions have shown throughout the season that they will take advantage of those opportunities.

Senior forward Trevor Sabo said the Lions managed to take full advantage of the power play during one of their games against the University of Central Oklahoma during the previous weekend.

Taking away those scoring opportunities from the Lions went a long way in keeping the games close.

“They got a great power play, so it would’ve very different if we were in the box,” said coach and general manager Jason Fairman.

Optimism Moving Forward

Even though the games may not have ended up how the Cyclones wanted them to, they were still able to find silver linings throughout the weekend.

“Battling through a lot of adversity and the injuries, kind of played with the hand that we were dealt, especially going up against a team like [Lindenwood],” Sabo said. “We showed a lot of grit, and I’m pretty proud today that we didn’t give up.”

The Cyclones were able to show off some of the potential the team knows they’re capable of achieving.

“We had our moments,” Fairman said, “There were times we played the way a team is going to have to play if they want to win a national championship.”