The ISU hockey team finished its final tune-up before heading to the ACHA national tournament this week. The ‘Clones played against a very depleted Northern State squad this past weekend in the last series at the old Ames Ice Arena.Having only 12 players on their roster, the visitors used junior varsity skaters from Iowa State to complete their team. The varsity Cyclones also had the offensive firepower of six players who returned to the squad after playing for Team USA in the recent World University Games.Iowa State dominated the first period, receiving two scores each from Glenn Detulleo, Scott Steinkamp and Nat Little. The only offense that the Wolves could muster came from Ryan Helmkamp, one of the ISU JV players.Scoring calmed down in the second frame, but Iowa State expanded its five-goal advantage to eight after two periods. Andrew Murdoch, Mike Gilbertson and Jeremy Meyer scored during the frame to give the Cyclones a 9-1 lead going into the second intermission.Northern State started the scoring in the third on a goal from Jeff Fredrickson, but the ‘Clones answered quickly. Alex Beckman tickled the twine 50 seconds later to push the home squad into double digits. Little would finish off a hat trick, and Chris Leyen completed the Cyclone scoring at 12. Scottie Carstens snuck the puck past Nate Dahlen with under a minute left as Iowa State took the first game, 12-3.The Wolves changed the scoreboard first Saturday when Pat Turbert tallied a goal three minutes into the game. From that point on, the Cyclones would control the offensive flow of the game.Little, Murdoch and Jason McCollum would put Iowa State up 3-1 after the first period. The ‘Clones then used a five-goal spree to boost their advantage to seven as both teams headed to the second intermission. Steinkamp, Detulleo, Leyen, Jared Marean and J.E. Lagueux helped the offense during the frame.Iowa State’s Tony Daniels lit the lamp for the visitors in the third to bring the score to 8-2, but Little would end the scoring with his fifth goal of the series. The last tally gave the Cyclones a 9-2 victory over the Wolves.Using JV players is a rare occurrence these days, ISU head coach Al Murdoch said.”It’s been a long time since we’ve been in that situation,” he said. “Because of academics and funding, [Northern State] had some cutbacks.””It did feel weird,” said ISU student Eric Biskner, who played for Northern State this past weekend. “It was a chance for me to show that I could play with the team. It was almost like a second tryout for me.” With the regular season complete, the Cyclones will now go for broke at the national tournament. Play begins Thursday, but Iowa State’s first game won’t be until Friday.The round-robin portion of the tourney pits the Cardinal and Gold against two familiar foes in CSCHL teams Wisconsin-Whitewater and Ohio.”We need to utilize our depth,” Murdoch said. “One of the advantages of the World University Games was that players that didn’t get ice time did get to play. Without a doubt, they have some of the best defense and goaltending in the nation.”As for the past weekend, the Ames Ice Arena saw its last hockey game as the building will be shut down. The Cyclones sent it off in style and class as the team auctioned off their jerseys for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.