Editor’s note: This sports story was first published yesterday, but in order to reach all interested readers who did not get a chance to read yesterday’s paper due to the weather, we are reprinting it today.

The hockey season is now over, so the puck stops here.

The Iowa State hockey team wrapped up its season by breaking a record and taking third place in the nation.

Bang! That’s one way to describe the Cyclone/Illini consolation match on Saturday afternoon. Another way would be rough.

The hard-fought battle for a third-ranking in the nation ended with a score of 7-4, with ISU on top. Conquering the Illini allowed the Cyclones to set a hockey record and to finish the season on an up note.

The 34 wins on the year broke a seven-year record and pushed Coach Al Murdoch to win No. 601.

Of the tournament finish, Cyclone Mike Ogbourne said, “If you’re not going to win the championship, it’s the next best thing.”

Murdoch said the chance to break a record provided a little incentive for the Cyclone squad, but so was the fact that the last game between Illinois and ISU had been a victory for the Illini.

Murdoch said the crowd, which numbered around 2,000, didn’t care whether or not it was a consolation game, but was supportive of the Cyclone squad all the same.

“I don’t know if we ever had a more spirited consolation game,” he said.

As soon as the puck dropped, the skaters went to work on the score. Within two minutes, Illinois knocked in two goals. Rob Malstrom earned the early pair of Illini points, the first was unassisted and the second was helped by Tim Martin.

Then, the Cyclones slid into Illini territory and pommeled the puck into the net for three consecutive goals.

Ogbourne collected the first goal with the help of Brian Paolello. Paolello then teamed up with Cyclone Chris Poli to aid Chad Evers in netting the second point.

Ogbourne did it again at 11:45, assisted by Bob Dressel.

The first period closed out with a score of 3-2.

At 2:39 in the second, hats were tipped to Ogbourne, who handled the puck for a hat trick. Poli and Paolello dished out the assists.

Jason Vega snagged the fifth goal, and Darcy Anderson used a pass from Tom Grimwood to make the sixth.

Illinois, nearly silent through the second, finally scored on a breakaway before the period’s close. Bill Lussow, from Mark Riehle, took the credit.

Less than four minutes into the third period, Riehle returned to the ice to score the fourth Illini goal.

ISU senior goalie Mike Grammatikos made his tournament debut in the final 17 minutes of the consolation contest.

Grammatikos said, “Everybody knows that Rob Howitt’s the No. 1 goal, but I’m always ready.”

He said to be out on the ice at the final buzzer was a great way to end his career, and “a memory I’ll never forget.”

“I’m just glad I could go out there and contribute,” he added.

Murdoch said Grammatikos’ last performance in the net was commendable. Murdoch said, “He literally stood on his head!”

The seventh and final goal of the game came off a long shot from Darcy Anderson.

The Illini attempted to add more power to their power play in order to get themselves back into the game, but it backfired and set them back an additional goal when Darcy Anderson fired the puck down into the abandoned net.

After the game, the disappointment of a lost championship title still lingered, but the Cyclone players still found good things to say.

“I tried hard. It didn’t turn out quite how I wanted it to,” said senior goaltender Howitt. “It’s feels better to win and take third than to lose and take second.”

“It’s been a great career to be in the top three in the nation for the last four years.”

Brian Wierson, a senior from Ames, said the empty feeling remains since the team worked so hard. “When you come up short, you have a hollow feeling,” he said.

He could still look back on the season and his career experience with nostalgia.

Wierson said he was thankful for everyone involved and was grateful for the victorious finale, even though it wasn’t the win they had anticipated.

“It was nice that we could go out with all of us remembering a win.”

Vega, also a senior, said, “It sucks that we didn’t do it, but it’s fun to end on a good note.”

On Friday night, ISU lost a shutout match to Penn State University by a score of 4-0.

The Nittany Lions and Cyclones were evenly matched until the final period, and at that point, the Cyclone seemed to run out of steam.

The breaking point occurred when PSU garnered its third goal on a power play advantage. With two ISU skaters in the penalty box, it was almost a guaranteed point for the Lions. And they took it.

Senior Russ Crawford said, “That’s always a big killer. As much as everyone wanted to come back, deep down inside, we knew we were in a bad position.”

But the end came. And for the Cyclones, it was almost tragic. They had done all they could.

Crawford said, “After four years of this, I’ve kind of come to grips with ‘whatever happens, happens.’ We left everything on the ice that we had.”

The 5,000 person crowd helped make the game an enjoyable, magical atmosphere for the better portion of the match.

When the momentum faltered because of a broken plate of plexiglas, the wave, the chicken song and other music conducive to audience participation kept everyone involved.

The first period played scoreless, and the second only allowed one point. At 16:10, Alon Eizenman came around the corner and crashed the puck into the net.

The Cyclones outshot the Lions in both of the first two periods.

“Heck of a game for 45 minutes,” Murdoch said.

But there was little the crowd could do once the team grew tired and weary.

The third goal showed ISU’s penalty problems and fatigue, which lasted until the game ended in a 4-0 defeat.

The third and fourth Penn State goals were scored by Rich Poldulka and Jeff Adams. The assists on both points came from Don Coyne.

PSU’s Chris Riley said, “We anticipated a good solid game, we just needed a good solid performance, which we had.”

He said the Lions didn’t ever give up as a team and worked to prevent having lapses in their game.

Murdoch complimented the Penn State squad for its abilities, and then complimented his own. He said he thought his skaters played with “a lot of class.”