The Iowa State Cyclones continued their reign of terror over college hockey this weekend with a pair of road victories over North Dakota State and Minot State.

The wins pushed the Cyclones, already ranked first nationally in the ACHA, to 14-0. With each additional victory, ISU increases its current school record for most consecutive wins to open a season.

This weekend’s victims, a pair of outclassed North Dakota schools, managed noble opposition in the early going, but couldn’t overcome the Cyclones’ depth and persistence.

On Friday night, North Dakota State answered three first period Cyclone goals, two by Glenn Detulleo and one by Darcy Anderson, with a pair of its own. The Bison played tough, physical hockey for a period-and-a-half, which was also the length of time they actually kept the game within reach.

“The score may not show it,” Cyclone Coach Al Murdoch said, “but it was a barnburner. It was a real close game through two periods.”

It was near the end of the second that the Cyclones really sprang to life, burying eight unanswered goals before the close of the game to seal an 11-2 Cyclone win.

Detulleo, a freshman currently second in scoring on the team, managed four of those final eight goals to go with his two first-period scores. The amazing six-goal outing ties the CSCHL record set by Darcy Anderson last weekend at Wisconsin-Whitewater for most in a single contest.

“He was really flying out there,” Murdoch said after the game. “It was like he had jets on his feet. As hard as they tried, they couldn’t hit him.”

“It was a lot of luck, really,” Detulleo said. “Our line was really clicking, and I just happened to be the guy that got the goals.”

Cyclone scoring leader Darcy Anderson didn’t exactly take the night off, either, displaying the consistency that has been the mark of his 1998-99 season so far. Darcy scored yet another hat trick, netting a goal in each period. He would be shut out on Saturday, but only after scoring at least one goal in 11 consecutive periods.

His talent and leadership have not gone unnoticed by players and coaches.

“He’s playing real well,” Murdoch said of his senior leader. “He’s a real asset to this team.”

Freshman Joe Fiebiger was the man behind the scenes Friday, assisting on five goals, including four of the six Detulleo scores.

“I’ve been playing with him and Jeremy Meyer since the beginning of the season,” Detulleo said. “They’re always working to get me the puck. They actually deserve more of the credit than I do.”

Nick Makris was again stellar in net, turning away 19 of 21 shots to move his personal record to 5-0. Makris is currently leading the team in save percentage (87.4 percent) and goals against average (2.72 per game).

On Saturday, the Cyclones butted heads with a far more competitive Minot State team. They never pulled away and finally won in the third period, 8-7.

The Beavers scored first, at 6:59 of the first, but freshmen Marc Sarazin and Jeremy Meyer responded with early goals to give the Cyclones a brief first-period lead. Minot State picked up a power play goal at the end of the first to knot the game at two apiece.

Cyclone tough guy Sean Strama banged home a Mark Doren rebound early in the second to give ISU another lead, but the Beavers tied and then untied the score with two goals in a 20-second span near mid-period.

Meyer and Smith then responded with consecutive goals of their own to regain the lead, which the Cyclones promptly lost 30 seconds later.

With under five minutes to play in the second, the score was tied at five. ISU regrouped and picked up the offensive pressure at the end of the second.

Jeremy Meyer completed his hat trick with 2:27 to go and freshman Todd Dundas added an insurance goal less than two minutes later off of a crisp pass from linemate Thierry Oggier.

The Cyclones came out of the locker room flat to start the third frame and quickly gave up a pair of goals and their lead.

The teams battled back and forth throughout the remainder of the third, no one emerging with the upper hand until Smith took advantage of a costly Beaver turnover to score the game winner with under five minutes to play.

“It was a total team effort out there,” Smith said after the game. “It took a little bit to get into the rotation, but as the game progressed, our line really started to click.”

When asked about his game-winning goal, Smith had to admit that he hadn’t even seen it go in.

“When I found out,” Smith said, “I was pretty pumped.”

Goalie Marc Vargas turned away the few remaining Minot State shots to hold on for the Cyclones’ 14th consecutive win.

“They kept coming back on us,” Murdoch said, “but we played hard and we were able to hold on for the win.”

Vargas gave up seven goals in Saturday’s game but faced a tough Minot State offense that rocked him with 41 shots.

“Although the goals against varied over the two nights, both of our guys had outstanding games,” Murdoch said. “Vargas and Makris are both healthy and in good shape and [original starter] Danny LaVoie should be back with us this week, as well.”

Coach Murdoch also commented on the inspired play of his freshmen.

“The rookies have really stepped it up a notch,” he said. “Detulleo, Smith and Meyer all played outstanding games on offense and showed some real talent.”

What makes the 14-game streak even more impressive is the fact that the Cyclones have had to rely so much on the play of those rookies. With captain and senior leader Darren Anderson out with an injury the past five games, a number of young players have picked up important early-season experience and should be ready to contribute for the remainder of the year.

Anderson is expected to return to the ice on Friday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena, when the Cyclones play host to the Fighting Illini of Illinois, perhaps their biggest rivals.

“They’re a team that will be absolutely flying out there,” Murdoch said. “They’re a very skilled team, and they’ve got great goaltending this year.”

The Cyclones expect a big turnout on Friday after their successful 4-0 road trip.

“The fans always get a little crazy on Illinois weekend,” Murdoch said. “I’m sure they’ll be hanging from the rafters.”