Icy hot, Cyclone hockey takes two more wins

Amanda Fier

The puck didn’t stop here, nor did the Cyclone hockey team’s winning streak. Iowa State stomped Colorado State to add two more wins to their perfect record.

Going into the weekend, ISU anticipated tough play. However, with a house packed with fans and skill on the ice, the Cyclones unexpectedly stole the entire show and dominated both the Friday and Saturday games.

Coach Al Murdoch said Colorado State was a “real feisty” squad. He described the weekend matches as penalty-stricken and physically rough.

Friday the Cyclone puck chasers led throughout the entire match, scoring three points in each of the first two periods while Colorado State remained scoreless.

In the final period, the team knocked in two more goals, and, despite giving up three to Colorado State, ISU bagged the win.

Cyclone Nick Krueger scored three points — one from an assist and two from goals.

Rookies Dan Harvey and Tom Grimwood picked up two goals each, and other ISU contributors included Bob Dressel and Mike Ogbourne.

Rob Howitt picked up the win as the Cyclone goalie recorded two shut-out periods.

Murdoch said he was pleased with the team’s play.

“Our special teams were able to perform very well.”

Saturday night was equally successful for the Cyclones; for the star of Saturday’s game, Chad Evers, the second match-up was even sweeter.

Evers registered four goals, making the first goal of the game and the last goal of the first period. He also chipped in the sixth and seventh goals of the night for a grand total of four points.

Murdoch said as a defensive player, Evers’ performance was outstanding and unusual.

He also said it’s possible Evers may have scored another goal that didn’t make it onto the board. He said Evers slammed a lightning shot that hit the goal post and may have kissed the net. But the shot was a tough call for the referee and never made it into the record books.

On Saturday night, Nick Makris and Mike Grammatikos split game time in the goalbox. Grammatikos kept Colorado State scoreless while guarding the goal in the third period.

Murdoch said overall the rest of the team played “a balanced game.”

Now 4-0, the team is looking ahead at upcoming matches.

So far, Murdoch said, “I feel we’re right on schedule.We’re working extremely hard on the ice and off the ice.”

He added that he set up the schedule so it gets tougher each game.

This way, as the team prepares to meet tougher opponents, they also have an additional week of practice and two more games experience, he said.

This weekend ISU hosts North Dakota State.

Murdoch said he expects this weekend to be even rougher and more physical than last weekend’s play. He said that North Dakota State is traditionally a well-coached championship caliber team that has won 6 of 10 hockey championships.

The team rankings are expected to come out in the next 10 days and the ISU team is striving to become even more competitive.

Murdoch said ISU’s early season victories will help its spot on the team scale. He said this weekend will impact the rankings and that North Dakota State is going to be as competitive as ever. The two teams face off at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night.