The Iowa State Hockey team experienced its first defeats of the season after being swept at home by the University of Illinois.

The losses ended the Cyclones’ school record for consecutive wins at 14. On Friday, Illinois won 3-2 and then held on for a 6-5 win the following night. With a 14-2 record, the Cyclones still have exceeded everyone’s expectations thus far.

“They will bounce back,” Head Coach Al Murdoch said. “Maybe having a 14-0 record was more pressure than having their first losses.”

In the opening game, Illinois scored just two minutes into the first period on a power play. The shot came from the blue line and somehow found its way into the net.

“It’s just one of those things where the puck goes in a funny way,” Coach Murdoch said. “They got the bounces this weekend, maybe we will get some next time.”

Iowa State was able to knot the score at one apiece when Darcy Anderson scored with less than a minute to play in the first period. The Illini came out firing in the second period and netted two goals to take a 3-1 lead.

ISU cut the lead to 3-2 on Jeremy Meyer’s goal in the third period, but the Cyclones couldn’t find the net after that, and the game ended in a 3-2 victory for Illinois.

Cyclone goaltender Nick Makris only allowed three goals, which usually would mean an Iowa State victory with its high-flying offense, but Illini goaltender Sam Eaton was stellar between the pipes.

Eaton turned away 43 of the 45 shots he faced and was able to slow down a potent Iowa State offense which out-shot Illinois 45-14.

“We didn’t capitalize, and maybe we showed a little bit of our youthfulness,” Murdoch said.

The Illini was also able to stop standout freshman Glenn Detulleo. Detulleo was coming off of a record-setting performance last week and was held to just one assist this weekend.

“I think Illinois maybe saw his stats and shadowed him a little closer,” Murdoch said.

On Saturday night, the Fighting Illini got out to a quick two-goal lead in the first period.

They were able to capitalize on costly Cyclone penalties and convert on the power plays.

“It’s tough to play 5 on 3,” Darcy Anderson said. “They put in some rebounds, and the chances went their way and not ours.

“We came out flat in the first period,” Darcy said. “They out-worked us, so we had to play catch-up hockey.”

Catch-up hockey is exactly what ISU played, as Darcy scored on a Greg Jones pass to trim the Illini lead to 2-1 in the second period.

Each team exchanged goals to make the score 3-2 after another Jones score.

The Illini added two goals in a 22-second span to increase its lead to 5-2 heading into the final stanza.

Iowa State substituted goalies as freshman Dan LaVoie entered the game.

Illinois was able to manage an early goal against LaVoie to extend its lead to 6-2, but that’s all it could manage in the remainder of the contest.

“LaVoie is coming into good form,” Murdoch said. “He gave us a chance in the third to get back into the game.”

The Cyclones mounted a third-period rally as Todd Dundas connected twice, and Thierry Oggier added another goal to make it a 6-5 score in favor of Illinois.

“It was very encouraging to see us battle back,” Darcy said. “It shows heart and depth to come back from this kind of deficit, and that is what championship teams are made of.”

Despite a ferocious barrage of shots by the Cyclones in the final minute, Illinois was able to hold on for a 6-5 win.

“The last two minutes were a scramble,” Murdoch said. “The big difference was their goaltender.”

Once again, ISU out-shot Illinois 36-14 but was unable to come away with the win.

“Running into a hot goalie makes it even more difficult to beat a team that is already pretty good,” Jones said.

“It’s frustrating when you work your tail off to get the puck into the net, and then you run into a goalie that is playing hot,” he said.

This young Cyclone team is still playing without team captain Darren Anderson, who is out with an injury.

“The team definitely misses Darren, but hopefully we will meet Illinois in the Chicago Classic,” Darcy said.

“Then we can show them what we are really made of instead of playing this catch-up hockey style of game,” he said.

These two teams are starting to develop quite a rivalry, as both games were characterized by a close final score and plenty of hard hitting.

“We could play these guys six or seven times this season,” Murdoch said. “They are a competitive and hustling team, so you can’t take anything away from them.”

The Ames/ISU Ice Arena should be rocking again next weekend after sellout crowds against Illinois.

“We appreciate the sellout crowds, and it really helps the team,” Murdoch said. “It breaks my heart to see fans turned away at the door.”

Iowa State is at home again next weekend as they take on the Minnesota Kodiaks. The Kodiaks are currently at the top of their league and should provide plenty of competition for the Cyclones.