Iowa State Hockey Head Coach Dr. Al Murdoch has little doubt about where his squad should finish this season. Why should he?

The Cyclones will return all but four players from a team that finished as runners-up to Ohio University at last year’s national tournament.

“This is one of the best teams we’ve had,” Murdoch said. “We lacked depth last season. Depth is definitely one of our strengths this year.

Last season, ISU finished with a 30-8-2 record and with only two seniors on the team this year should only improve on that mark over the next two campaigns.

Big Doug Borud returns for his last season at forward. Borud’s lethal combination of size, 6-2,233, strength and speed overwhelmed many an opposing defenseman last year. Borud paced the Cyclones in scoring last season racking up 70 points including 9 shorthanded goals.

Borud is setting his sights even higher for the ’96-’97 campaign. “I’d like to score a hundred points this season,” Borud said. With Borud’s skills, that seemingly lofty goal is definitely within his reach.

Senior Sean Weaver also returns for his final year at forward. Weaver netted 30 goals last season and finished third on the team in scoring.

Other returning forwards include sophomore center Chris Poli, who notched 30 goals last year including a team high 11 with the man advantage. Captain Brian Wierson returns after leading the Cyclones in assists last year with 40 as does center Jason Vega, who scored 25 goals while leading the team in penalty minutes. Aaron Scharf, who tallied five points including a hat-trick in last Friday’s intersquad game, returns at right-wing. Scharf averaged a point a game in 17 games played last season.

ISU’s cast of forwards also includes two key newcomers. Brothers Darcy and Darren Anderson join the Cyclones from North Bay, Ontario Canada. Both brothers will provide plenty of scoring punch as well as a physically intense presence on the ice.

“That’s hockey country up there,” Murdoch said. “They will add a tremendous amount of skill and intensity to the team.”

Darcy and Darren provided a preview of their scoring prowess and intensity in training camp last week finishing second and third respectively in overall scoring.

“Camp was pretty intense,” Darcy said. “Everybody was fighting for a position on the varsity squad.”

Darcy stated his goals for this season as plain and simple.

“Obviously, as a team, we want to win the title,” Darcy said. “Individually, I want to score a lot of points.”

This year’s team will not only provide an abundance of scoring, but will also boast a solid group of blueliners. Among the top returnees is Bob Dressel. Dressel is very strong in his own end and can join the rush with equal skill. Dressel’s laser slapshot should provide plenty of fireworks for the Cyclone power play this year.

Also returning on defense is John Paolello who tied Borud for the team lead in plus-minus last season at an impressive +57.

Captain Rusty Crawford returns as ISU’s leading scorer among defensemen last year with 47 points including three shorthanded goals, good for second on the team.

Sophomore Chris Sprong, who tied Dressel for the lead in defensemen scoring at training camp, will also return.

Thompson, Manitoba native Anthony Penner joins the Cyclone defensive corps for his first season. Penner looked impressive in training camp notching four assists and played gritty each and every day.

Complementing Murdoch’s highly impressive roster of skaters is an equally impressive group of netminders led by junior Rob Howitt.

“Howitt’s looking very solid,” Murdoch said. “He’s picking up right where he left off in the nets.”

Howitt posted a fine .883 save percentage last season while appearing in 19 games.

Returning along with Howitt are sophomores Mike Grammatikos and Neil Gilmore. The Cyclones will also have three rookie goaltenders including Jon Thomas, Dave Niewolny and, from Finland, Alexksi Ylonen, all of whom had solid performances in training camp.

According to Murdoch, the presence of Ylonen and other international players enhances the team’s style of play. Murdoch describes his squad’s style as a hybrid style.

“We try and play a blend of both the North American style and the European style,” Murdoch said.

North American hockey is generally much more physical than European hockey. European hockey is played on Olympic-size ice surfaces which are larger and therefore favor a more open finesse type of play with more passing and less hitting.

The trademark of this year’s Cyclones, as is always the trademark of a Murdoch team, is solid team discipline. “We’ll be a rough team this year, no doubt about it,” Murdoch said. “However, we won’t take penalties for unnecessary roughness or retaliation.”

ISU continues preseason play this weekend, September 27 and 28, as they host the Cyclone Invitational Tournament. Games are at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Ames ISU Ice Arena.