The Iowa State men’s hockey team have found themselves in the midst of another streak, only this time, they are on the winning end.

Head Coach Al Murdoch’s squad swept the last two weekend series, beating the University of Colorado and then capturing this weekend’s Chicago Classic Tournament to improve their record in the ACHA to 11-7-1 and 4-6 in the CSCHL.

Behind strong goaltending and balanced scoring, the Cyclones claimed a 5-1 victory over St. Louis University on Friday night and blanked the University of Illinois in the Championship, 7-0.

“We were real focused on winning this tournament,” said sophomore forward Glenn Detulleo. “Everyone contributed, whether it was goal scoring or on defense.”

Goaltender Jake Hinderman gained the victory on Friday night turning away 18 shots, and Nathan Dahlen recorded his first shut-out of the season in the Championship game blocking 21 shots.

“Our goaltending was just outstanding this weekend, obviously, as we only allowed one goal,” Al Murdoch said. “Along with our goaltending, our defense is really stepping it up.

“We are playing very physical,” he said, “and limiting the high quality shots for the opposing team.”

Detulleo, Rob Rose and Brian Paolello each had a goal and two assists in Friday nights victory.

“We had a good combination of balanced scoring and strong defense,” Rose said. “We are starting to get it rolling, and we need to keep that up.”

In Saturday night’s Championship game, Andrew Murdoch led the Cyclone scoring attack with two goals, while Mike Anderson, Brian Paolello, Nat Little, Jason McCollum and Mike Gilbertson each tacked on a goal.

“I had some good looks because I’m getting to play with good players,” Andrew Murdoch said. “They are good with the puck, and they are good skaters, so I’ve been lucky to get to play with them.”

The players attribute the improvement the past two weekends to drills the coaches have had the team doing during practice and the hard work ethic the team has continued to show throughout the season.

“We’ve been working on our defense a lot in practice,” Andrew Murdoch said, “and everyone is starting to get used to the system the coaches are teaching us.

“The team is starting to gel and we seem to be getting better each weekend,” he said.

Dahlen, Rose, Detulleo and Anderson were named to the All-Tournament team, which Al Murdoch said is the first time four players from one team had been chosen in the history of the Chicago Classic.

This weekend, the Cyclones travel to Wisconsin-Whitewater for a league double-header in what Detulleo calls “almost a must-win situation.”

“We are in a position right now where we can’t afford to lose any more games in the CSCHL if we want to have a chance at making it in the league tournament,” Detulleo said.

Coach Murdoch’s squad is 6-2 on the road this season and he would like to see that improve with a weekend sweep in Wisconsin.

“I’m not a coach that looks to split on the road,” he said. “I want our team to play the best they can and the scores will take care of themselves.”