The Iowa State men’s hockey team lit up the nets over the weekend, sweeping the Minnesota Jr. South Suburban Steers and improving its record to 5-2-1 overall.

Friday night, the Cyclones recorded an 11-4 victory as Tony Infusino, Jeff Smith and co-captain Brian Paolello each recorded two goals apiece.

Saturday evening’s contest was just as exciting for Cyclone fans, as freshman Andrew Murdoch scored four goals contributing to the 12-3 victory.

“Paolello is just doing a super job showing lots of leadership both on and off the ice,” head coach Al Murdoch said.

Paolello has recorded nine points — six goals and three assists — so far this season, and Murdoch said his limited penalty minutes are just one example of the leadership he shows the younger players.

“They were a pretty good skating team, but we were just better conditioned,” Murdoch said. “They were pretty physical, but we stepped it up on the physical side too.”

He said that solid goaltending from Nick Makris, Nathan Dahlen and Jake Hinderman along with an increase in overall conditioning and ice speed were key to the weekend victories.

“All three goalies played real solid and we had lots of scoring from lots of different people,” Murdoch said.

He credits practice as a key ingredient in the improvement over last weekend but added that there is always more development that needs to be done during the season.

“Our on-ice training and off-ice training are really starting to fall into place,” Murdoch said. “Our guys are lifting weights each morning and practicing hard each afternoon.”

He also believes the announcement that the Homecoming weekend homestand against the University of Illinois would be played in Hilton Coliseum is another incentive for his players to keep improving.

However, the team must first prepare for this weekend’s series against conference rival Western Michigan.

It will be the first game of the season for the Cyclones away from the friendly confines of the Ames/I.S.U Ice Arena.

“This weekend we head to Kalamazoo, and it will be the first road trip for some of the younger guys,” Murdoch said. “We are hoping to get back on track in the conference.”

The Cyclones record in the ACHA is 1-2-1 and 0-2 in the CSCHL conference.