The ISU men’s hockey team shook the rust off from Christmas break on Saturday night to avenge Friday night’s loss to third ranked Penn State.

Friday night saw the sixth ranked Cyclones manage only one goal against the Icers while attempting 42 shots on goal. The Cyclones lost 3-1 as Captain Brian Paolello scored the lone goal on the power play.

Head Coach Al Murdoch said Penn State’s combination of great goaltending and stiff defense proved to be too much for the Cyclones to overcome on Friday night.

“The break definitely had an impact on the quality of shots that we took on Friday night,” he said. “Saturday night, however, we started to get our feel for the ice back.”

Glenn Detulleo, current ACHA scoring leader, was held scoreless Friday evening by the Icers.

“I had a lot of chances on Friday night, but my shot was just a little off,” Detulleo said. “It’s just one of those things, some days your shots go in and some they don’t.”

However, Detulleo and the Cyclones ended Saturday night’s contest with a vengeance as they scored four third period goals en route to a 5-3 victory.

Detulleo shook off Friday night’s performance as he notched another hat trick and Jeff Smith and Mike Gilbertson each scored a goal for the Clones.

“For us to score four goals in the third period was just tremendous,” Murdoch said. “I was real pleased with our goaltending, and as a team we only allowed Penn State three goals each night.”

Philipp Popp, a freshman who just started school at Iowa State this semester, played goalie.

“I’ve only been on the ice with the team since practice started after break, but I was ready and the team was ready,” Popp said. “The team really made me feel welcome right away on the ice and on campus.”

Along with Popp, defenseman Greg Jones is back this semester to finish his senior year of eligibility. Jones, who competed for last season’s championship squad, was away from Ames for the first semester doing an internship.

“Both of these men are good quality hockey players and they are fitting right into the groove with this team,” Coach Murdoch said. “They will be a big asset to the depth of this team as we try to get into the ACHA national tournament at the end of the season.”

Murdoch said the top twelve ranked teams in the ACHA at the end of the season are invited to the national tournament.

This weekend the Cyclones face another strong opponent at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena in Minnesota State and Murdoch and his team know they need a solid showing to keep their national ranking.

“Saturday night’s win gave us a lot of confidence that we can compete with the best in the league,” Detulleo said. “We need to continue to come out and play every weekend like we did on Saturday.”