The Iowa State hockey squad finished a weekend on the ice with two wins, upping its overall record to 26-4.

Friday night the Cyclones drug the Palmer Dragons all over the ice to win the match 11-2. On Saturday, the ISU skaters took charge and drove the St. Paul Steers to defeat in the match’s third period with a final score of 7-4.

Friday night the Dragons were nearly fireless after the first period, while Cyclones’ scoring snowballed until the game’s buzzer rang.

Defenseman Pat Feezor said, “They just ran out of gas.”

Assistant Coaches Bill Ward and Hakaan Walltin stood in for Coach Al Murdoch.

Ward said, “Basically, we just came out and out-muscled them and physically outplayed them. We were rolling with four lines, so we wore them down.”

Although the team won the game, he said it wasn’t good that the team gave up two goals in the third period because “losing in the third period is something we need to eliminate.”

Cyclone Brian Paolello gave credit to the short-handed Palmer team. “It was a good game; their skill wasn’t as high as ours, but they played hard,” he said.

Of the 11 goals scored, Chris Poli picked up three for a hat trick. Anthony Penner, Bob Dressel and Jason Vega tagged two points apiece. Darcy Anderson and Paolello each netted one goal.

Saturday night’s contest was hard-fought, literally, and in terms of competition. The St. Paul Steers stuck it to the Cyclones again and again, but the Cyclones gave it right back.

Many members of the ISU squad spent a good chip of time in the penalty box. Darren Anderson surpassed the box and headed straight to the bleachers for fighting in the first three minutes of the game.

“You’ve always got to be ready to go. Never back down,” Anderson said.

The first period ended with the Cyclones up 2-1 courtesy of Mike Ogbourne and Dressel. In the second, the rough-housing continued to thrill the fans and put players in the penalty box.

The Steers scored 10:08 into the second period to tie the score. ISU responded with a goal by Terry Conlin. Only 30 seconds later, St. Paul popped another puck into the net to resume a tie at 3-3.

A fight near the student section was followed by a St. Paul point, giving the Steers a one-point advantage at the end of the second period.

The Cyclones returned from the locker room ready to play to win.

The puck last touched ISU’s Aaron Scharf’s stick before passing the Steer goalie on a power play to tie the game.

A minute later, Paolello gave the Cyclones their first lead since the first half of the second period. Bob Dressel increased the lead to two goals, and Vega knocked in another.

Feezor said it was the best third period the team has played all year. “We were down; and we showed we could come back and play,” he said.

Paolello said the offense was a key to third-period dominance, and the final chapter demonstrated that “all the guys on this team can play.”

In addition, Paolello and Feezor said, “Our fans were great. They were unbelievable all weekend.”

Ward said as the talented team nears playoffs, “We have four lines really competing to see who’s going to step up and be our pressure-situation players.”