The Iowa State hockey team took its undefeated, 4-0 record into Hilton Coliseum last weekend for a Homecoming series against league-rival North Dakota State.

When the dust had settled on Saturday night, the Cyclones record remained untarnished, now at 6-0.

In a series that showcased Bison ineptitude and inexperience as much as it did Cyclone dominance, North Dakota state was outcoached and outplayed for all 120 minutes.

The Bison returned to the Northlands having been swept and outscored, 22-3.

“We’re a couple of weeks ahead of North Dakota, and it really showed tonight,” Head Coach Al Murdoch said. “Our guys are really starting to show their depth and their abilities.”

Defensive Coach Brad Zangs was also pleased with the performance of his players, who held the Bison to just three goals and 32 shots in the entire weekend series.

“Our veterans are playing well, and a lot of the young kids are really improving,” Zangs said. “Our defense is playing superb hockey right now.”

Goaltender Marc Vargas, who guarded the net for five of the six periods this weekend, was also very complimentary of the guys in front of him.

“Strong defense helps you out,” Vargas said. “I’ve got to give them a lot of credit.”

Freshman Rob Rose, one of the defensive leaders of this season’s Cyclone squad, picked up a goal and three assists over the weekend in addition to his sterling defensive play. He pointed to the contributions of the entire team for the Cyclone’s success behind the blueline.

“We had a couple of good games on ‘D,'” Rose said, “but it’s not just the two defensemen. It’s the forwards coming back to help out and the goalie being there to bail us out when we make a mistake. It’s a whole team effort.”

Despite the heroics of the defense, it was the offensive fireworks that stole the show in both games.

On Friday night, the Cyclones needed less than two minutes to jump on the board against Bison goaltender Joe Vannette.

Darcy Anderson opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 1:41, and Nat Little added the eventual game-winner less than a minute later.

When it was all said and done, seven Cyclone scorers netted goals to beat North Dakota State 9-1.

Led by the hat trick of Darren Anderson, Iowa State collected goals from Darcy, Little, Rose, Glenn Detulleo, Thierry Oggier and Greg Jones.

After the game, Darren Anderson commented on the success he and brother Darcy have been enjoying for quite awhile now.

“I think it’s a combination of the puck bouncing our way and our linemates,” Darren said. “We’ve really had some strong linemates who have performed well. We can’t take all the credit for the goals.”

The Cyclone dominance carried over into Saturday’s game as the Cyclone’s posted another crooked score against the overmatched Bison, winning 13-2.

Eight Cyclones scored in the second debacle, including Darren and Darcy Anderson, Detulleo, Brian Paolello, Todd Dundas, Mark Doren, Jeremy Meyer and Marc Sarazin.

Darren Anderson and Paolello each netted a pair of goals, but the offensive MVP was clearly Detulleo.

The freshman out of Porcupine, Ontario, finished the game with four goals and an assist. For the weekend, Glenn amassed five goals and three assists for the Cyclone cause.

“I felt good in warmups,” Detulleo said, “and it was just one of those days when everything seems to go in the net.”

One of Detulleo’s four Saturday goals was also clearly ticketed for the highlight reels.

After taking a pass from Rob Rose near the North Dakota State blue line, Detulleo skated in on net but was knocked off balance by a defender. As he fell to the ice, Glenn managed to fire an off-balance wrist-shot which beat Bison goalie Brian Alexander for his second score of the night.

“That goal was a lot of luck, I think,” Detulleo said. “I beat the defenseman, but he got a piece of me. So I was falling as I shot, and somehow it found the net.”

Vargas, who made his first two starts of the season, performed very well in net. He stopped all but three of 25 shots in his five periods of play.

“Vargas stepped up and played absolutely excellent,” Coach Murdoch said after the first contest.

“Once I get a couple of shots on me,” Vargas said, “I feel good, and I stay pretty comfortable the rest of the game.”

Overall, the Cyclones played well on offense, defense and between the pipes.

“The players are getting used to each other, they’re adapting to the game, and their play is really coming along,” Coach Zangs said.

Darren Anderson, in addition to contributing five goals and two assists, was also instrumental in bringing the series to Hilton Coliseum.

“We wanted to give Iowa State something to be happy about on Homecoming,” Darren said. “We hope this becomes a tradition. We’d like to play every homecoming here.”

Darren did a lot of the legwork to make the series possible. He said it was only natural for the team to play at Hilton.

“We have a first-class organization and this is a first-class facility. It just seems to fit.”

Darren also said fans could expect the same strong play from the Cyclones for the rest of the season.

“I don’t really think we’ve shown all that we’re capable of yet,” he said.

“We’re just getting started, Darren said.”