The Cyclone men’s hockey team recaptured its winning ways over the weekend, taking two of three games during its road trip through the Dakotas.

Head Coach Al Murdoch saw his team end its four-game losing streak on Friday night as it defeated the Minot State Beavers of North Dakota, 6-1. The Cyclones dropped Saturday’s contest with the Beavers, 8-3, but bounced back on Sunday afternoon with their own 8-3 victory over Northern State of South Dakota.

The Cyclones were led Friday evening by defenseman Tom Grimwood’s two goals while Glenn Detulleo, Mike Anderson, Andrew Murdoch and Jeremy Meyer each added a goal of his own.

The balanced scoring continued in Sunday’s victory with co-captain Brian Paolello racking up four points along with goals by Grimwood, Detulleo, Meyer, Mike Anderson and Jon Anderson.

“We capitalized on the chances that we had on Friday night, and that seemed to be the difference in the game,” Grimwood said.

Assistant Coach Chuck Wight was glad to see the end of the losing streak and said the team is starting to see the benefits of its recent training and practice.

“We played a lot more physical, and our penalties were way down. That difference is helping us gain momentum” Wight said. “Now we are beginning to play a more fast-paced, hard-hitting style of game that is disciplined. No unnecessary penalties are being taken.”

Grimwood said, “After losing the last four games in a row, the coaches definitely had us ready to go. This program is used to winning.”

Wight and the rest of the team know there is improvement yet to be made but feel the road trip proved to be a breakthrough for the youthful team.

“After the last couple weekends, it was nice that we didn’t have any real letdowns,” sophomore forward Jeff Smith said. “This weekend, there wasn’t any slack in our play at all. Saturday night, [Minot State] just played really well.”

“Even through the losing streak, our team stayed positive,” Wight said. “Our veterans showed great leadership on how to be persistent and patient.”

He said the team is getting to the point where it is able to compete with anyone on its schedule, which is a big boost for such a youthful team.

“Finally on Friday night, everything seemed to click, and we played the best game of the season,” Wight said. “They took one from us on Saturday, but we bounced back on Sunday with a huge win against Northern State.”

The Cyclones now focus on this weekend’s homecoming series against conference rival Illinois.

They return to play in their original home, Hilton Coliseum, on Friday night and are hoping for a large, energetic crowd.

“We are looking for a great showing from our crowd support, and hopefully the team will feed off of that,” said Wight. “If the fans are looking to see a very fast-paced and physical game of hockey, I think that is what we can deliver.”