Cyclone Hockey never quit in Friday’s game against the University of Alabama.

Alabama’s Taylor Joseph found the back of the net 2:14 into the first period, followed by another goal from Thomas Godfrey about five minutes later.

Despite a strong presence by the Cyclones in the first period, the score remained 2-0 in favor of Alabama going into the first intermission.

“Territorial standpoint, I thought we were pretty dominant [in the first period],” said head coach and general manager Jason Fairman.

The Cyclones continued their dominance in the second, where they scored two goals to tie the game.

The first goal came from senior forward Adam Alcott right off the bat, which sparked some momentum for the Cyclones. Just minutes later, sophomore forward Jared Erickson added a goal to tie the game.

“I thought we were better in the second period,” Fairman said. “I think we did a better job finding a way to get more quality shots.”

However, after a solid second period, Alabama regained the lead just 2:20 into the third period. A mere two minutes later, freshman defenseman Jake Joyaux tied the game for the Cyclones yet again.

After continuing to play from behind for the majority of the game, the Cyclones then took the lead on a power play goal, courtesy of senior defenseman Kurt Halbach.

The power play opportunity came after a big penalty kill, which gave the team a big boost at that point in the game.

“Anytime you can do something like that, you’re going to get a good response out of the team,” Halbach said.

The final score ended up being 4-3 in favor of the Cyclones, after battling back for a good portion of the game.

While it is never good to have to continue to play from behind, Fairman said seeing the team work through those different situations of battling back was good, because those situations can be a critical part of the game.

“It’s a tough situation where you feel like you’re dominating a team and then they get a couple quick goals and you’re in the hole,” Fairman said. “So I’m proud of the way the guys fought through that and were able to come back.”

Players and coaches alike, agreed despite the score at the end of the first period, they played a solid twenty minutes.

“We weren’t too worried [after the first period], we were playing well,” Alcott said. “Pucks just weren’t bouncing, but if we kept playing that way they would find their way in eventually.”

Which is exactly how it worked out for the Cyclones. Their big second period gave them momentum going into the third period, and they grabbed the lead to get the outcome that they wanted.

Overall, the Cyclones showed heart and perseverance in their comeback win. As always, there are always things to improve on, but Fairman was pleased with how the team responded with each obstacle in Friday’s game.

“I was proud of the guys, the way they kept battling,” Fairman said. “They didn’t give up.”