The Iowa State hockey team scooped up five wins and suffered one loss over Thanksgiving break. The nine-day trip sent the Cyclones west to Colorado for four matches and back east to Chicago where they wrapped up the road trip with two more games.

Coach Al Murdoch said the on-the-road series was something he wanted his team to experience because it would help prepare the players for the pressure of the national tournament.

“I wanted to put these guys under stress,” he said. “We won five out of six, which was excellent.”

The Cyclones’ heartbreaking loss came in sudden-death overtime against Penn State at the Chicago Classic.

Murdoch said at the end of the sixth match, the Cyclone team was “completely drained” from the week’s previous games and it showed.

Highlights of the vacation games included a shut-out against Illinois recorded by goaltender Rob Howitt. Also, three Canadian skaters — Terry Conlin, Darren Anderson and Tom Grimwood — racked up 19, 18 and 15 points, respectively, on the trip with goals and assists.

Howitt played every minute of every match. The 7-0 shut-out was his second of the season.

“I really needed it,” Howitt said. “It was a great game. [Our] defense was exceptional. [The] forwards did their job.”

Murdoch said Howitt was exceptional in the goal and the offense, especially the Canadians, played well.

“I really felt good about our depth,” he said.

He said all four offensive lines pushed the puck past the Illini goalie.

In addition, the fourth offensive line was strong, enabling Murdoch to give them ice time during the overtime period against Penn State.

Murdoch said using his fourth-teamers nearly gave ISU the win. “They almost scored,” he said.

To open the week, the skaters scooted west to play Colorado State and Colorado. The Cyclones swept the weekend in the ski state, beating Colorado State 11-2 and Colorado 9-3.

Cyclone Canadian cousins Conlin and Anderson collected hat tricks in Friday’s Colorado State game. Mike Anderson picked up two goals for the Cyclones.

Against the same team the next night, the Andersons struck again, netting two goals apiece.

After one day off, ISU whipped Colorado 11-5 in a Monday night match.

Conlin and Mike Ogbourne each caged hat tricks. Nick Krueger contributed two goals to the Cyclone cause.

The next night, the Cyclone icemen returned to the Buffalo rink, scoring another dozen while Colorado only popped in three.

Krueger showed his scoring consistency by knocking in two more for the Cyclones to bring his total to four in the ISU/Colorado series. Conlin collected his third hat trick of the four-game run.

“Things with our line are starting to click,” Conlin said.

Bound for the Windy City, the Cyclone puck squad rode back east to compete in the Chicago Classic which featured ISU, Penn State, Colorado and Illinois.

On Friday night, ISU blanked the Fighting Illini 7-0, which gave Howitt his shut-out and qualified the team for the tournament’s championship.

Darren Anderson continued to send his scoring stats skyward as he knocked in two.

In a see-saw match of the States, Penn State was first to score with a short-handed goal. The Cyclone team answered with two.

At the dawn of the third period, the Cyclones upped their advantage to 3-1.

But after that, things looked less hopeful for the cardinal and gold.

Howitt said the team played well until the third period.

At that point, he said, “We ran into penalty problems; calls didn’t go our way and they got two quick goals.”

The penalty problems helped the Nittany Lions use power plays to net two goals. These two goals tied the match and forced a fourth period on the already drained ISU skaters.

After 18 minutes of overtime play, Penn State used a rebound to smack the puck in for the match-ending point. It was only the Cyclone team’s second loss of the season.

Grimwood, Darren Anderson and Chris Poli were the trio responsible for the Cyclones’ three points.

Howitt said the Penn State loss was an “obvious disappointment,” but PSU won the game and his respect.

“They worked that much harder; they wanted it more,” he said.

Conlin said the win reminds the team of what they need to do for nationals and that they “have to keep working harder.”

“We played good. We started strong, and we finished strong,” Conlin said. “I think [the loss] did us some good and we can build on that.”

The Cyclone team is back in its practice routine and is glad to be home.

After the week, Murdoch said the guys are hurt a little, but no one has been lost from the line-up.

“It was a lot of hockey and a lot of fun, but it is best if the team gets three practices in per game.”

Howitt said ISU’s nation-leading team continues to grow and improve with experience, but “every game is a tough game because everyone wants to beat you.”

Murdoch said, “There are no easy wins from this point on.”

This weekend, the Cyclone puck chasers are scheduled to take on the University of Michigan-Dearborn with games at the ISU/Ames Ice Arena Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.