After stomaching three losses before the holiday break, the Cyclone hockey team returned to the rink last weekend to defeat Arizona State in a series sweep.

The cardinal and gold skaters sank the Ice Devil ship 3-2 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday, boosting their overall record to 22-4.

Assistant coaches Bill Ward and Hakaan Walltin took over coaching duties for Coach Al Murdoch who was out of town for a hockey conference.

Ward said the team was a little rusty and didn’t play its best, but “it’s good to get back on the winning track.”

He said the team needs to play with a little more heart and work on its defensive zone coverage, but setting the game tempo, having team depth and the fact that the Cyclones had many more shots on goal than the Ice Devils added up to a winning weekend.

Ward said, “Their goalie played very well and kept them in the game.”

Cyclone goaltender Rob Howitt said, “They didn’t have very many shots, but some of the shots they had were good quality.”

On Friday night, ASU passed the puck past Howitt with only 25 seconds left to play in the first period to take a 1-0 lead.

Chad Evers said, “Even though they scored the first goal, we went right back after them.”

Iowa State let the Ice Devils enjoy the lead for only 12 seconds before forward Mike Ogbourne, assisted by Evers and Greg Jones, put the Cyclones on the board.

Ogbourne, who also picked up a goal in the Saturday game, agreed with Ward, saying the team was a little out of sync and that depth was the key to the two victories.

As the game wore on, Ogbourne said the team began to play better and showcased its “four strong lines.”

After the second and third periods on Friday, the Cyclones ended on the up by one goal. ISU’s Radovan Okenka slapped in the second point unassisted, but ASU answered to tie the match.

Then to take the win, Dan Harvey knocked in the third goal, also unassisted.

Saturday night the Ice Devils came onto the ice fired up and scored the period’s lone goal against Howitt merely five minutes into the game.

But as the clocked ticked, the match resembled the one from the previous evening and ended once again in ISU’s favor.

In the second, Cyclone Darcy Anderson grabbed a goal at 6:40 with the help of Terry Conlin and Bob Dressel. To earn a 2-1 lead, Dressel downed the next goal for the Cyclones less than two minutes later, assisted by Chris Poli and Brian Paelello.

Darcy and Darren Anderson and Player of the Week Russ Crawford used a power play to take the 3-1 lead.

The Andersons picked up assists as Crawford collected the goal. Minutes later, Ogbourne landed one in the net at 14:28 off passes from Poli and Paelello.

ASU finally answered the four consecutive Cyclone goals with its own to close out the middle chapter 4-2. Early in the third, the Ice Devils closed in on the Cyclones with another goal after two minutes of skating.

Sixteen minutes later, ISU’s Jason Vega wrapped up the win with the fifth and final goal of the series.

Evers said the Cyclone defense was a strength, and complimented Howitt for his “superb” play. He also expressed appreciation to the forwards who helped out when others were late coming into the zone.

Evers said, “It was a good start after having four weeks off. It is something to build on.”