The No.1-ranked Iowa State Hockey team continued their dominance by sweeping Illinois in their own backyard.

The Cyclones, who made the trip to Champaign, Illinois in search of a sweep to bring their winning streak to 11 games. The Cyclones did just that, winning both games by scores of 6-1 and 5-3.

“We’re not very popular in Illinois right now. They came out in droves to see us,” ISU Head Hockey Coach Al Murdoch said.

On Friday the Cyclones dominated the match from start to finish, so much that three defensmen scored in the win.

Defensemen Bob Dressel, Brian Paolello and Greg Jones all tallied a goal for ISU.

“That is very unusual for that to happen. Defensemen don’t score too often,” Murdoch said.

“So it was nice to get scoring all the way around.”

Although the Cyclones were doing the job offensively, it was Cyclone goalie Bob Howitt, who Murdoch considers a definite NHL prospect, who stole the show. Howitt saved 24 out of 25 shots on goal in the win.

“Bob Howitt was outstanding. You can’t say enough about him. He is really playing well right now,” Murdoch said.

Saturday’s game was a little closer, with the Cyclones finally pulling away in the third period.

“It was nip and tuck for a while. It was 1-1 after the first period, 4-3 after the second and then we scored again in the third to put it away,” Murdoch said.

ISU’s Chris Poli and Mike Ogbourne lit it up, scoring two goals a piece in the win. Also contributing to the scoring effort was Aaron Sharf, who scored the final goal for the Cyclones.

“That was nice to see them come alive. It was a super weekend,” Murdoch said.

“That moves our win streak to 11 games and that is always nice going into the National Invitational Tournament. The top 10 teams in the country will be selected, I think, on Thursday with the results of the next three weekends determining the seeding of each team.”

The Cyclones will try to get revenge this weekend as South Dakota State comes to Ames for two games on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

“They swept us there. They gave us two out of our four losses. So these games will be tough,” Murdoch said.

An added attraction will be ISU’s seven-foot-tall DeHang Sun. Sun has had to miss much of this season due to visa complications.

“He should be in the lineup. I believe his visa has been updated. He’s really a crowd favorite. He is very smooth, has a great shot and loves to hit,” Murdoch said.