The ISU hockey squad battled league rival Illinois this weekend, but the results didn’t go the way of the cardinal and gold. With the home-ice advantage, the Illini swept the Cyclones to gain four points in the CSCHL standings.This marked the third time in 30 years that Illinois has swept Iowa State in Champaign. The two wins place the Illini six points behind Iowa State for second place in the CSCHL; the ‘Clones will have to win their last two league games to assure themselves a top two finish.”Anytime we go to Illinois, it’s a big series,” said ISU forward Glenn Detulleo. “It was a chance for them to upset a higher ranked opponent; and for us, it was an opportunity to show that we were the fifth-ranked team in the country. The motivation was there for both teams to have a good weekend.”The home team broke through with the first score of the series when Illini defenseman David Vargas gave his squad a 1-0 lead that they would carry to the first break. Illinois went up two midway into the second frame as Luke Carlson lit the lamp.The Cyclones turned up the offensive presence later in the second when Andrew Murdoch cut the deficit in half. In the third, Iowa State completely took control of the momentum and the lead with goals from Mark Krueger and Mike Gilbertson. However, Illinois forward Brian Tilden had an answer, tying the game at three with 10 minutes left.Carlson gave the home team the lead and Kyle Zabrin put the game away with an empty-netter to lead the Illini to a 5-3 win.Illinois jumped out of the gate even faster Saturday, scoring twice in the first three minutes. Joel Superfine and Mike Boettcher accounted for the firepower, giving the blue and orange a 2-0 lead. Mike Gilbertson put Iowa State on the board late in the first to bring the ‘Clones back to 2-1.Goals from Tilden and Steve Cichocki expanded the Illini lead to 4-1 early in the second stanza. Gilbertson’s second tally brought the lead to two, but Carlson tried to keep the ISU down with his score.The Cyclones were down three, but not completely counted out. Nat Little started a comeback with less than two minutes in the middle frame. The ISU rally continued in the third with Murdoch and Scott Steinkamp providing enough offense to tie the game at five.It was enough to send the game to overtime, but not enough to push them into the winner’s circle. Tilden struck again for his second score of the game, giving Illinois the 6-5 victory.”The difference was that they capitalized on every chance they had and we didn’t,” Detulleo said. “Their gameplan was to outhustle us,” said ISU head coach Al Murdoch. “They were winning the race to the puck, which is unusual for our team because we’re usually a very good skating team.”The ‘Clones will not get to rest much in Ames as they hit the road again to face Arizona State this weekend.”With every road series, we’re starting to learn what we need to be doing,” Detulleo said. “At home, we’re used to jumping on teams early and we have to have that mentality on the road.””We’ve got to know that down the stretch all the teams will become faster and more competitive,” Murdoch said. “Everybody’s going to be playing playoff hockey.”