Cyclone Hockey traveled to Wentzville, Missouri this weekend to face Lindenwood University. The Cyclones struggled, losing 5-1 and 7-3.

Azevedo gets involved

While Iowa State struggled to keep up with the dominant Lindenwood offense, senior forward Aaron Azevedo did his best in getting involved.

Azevedo got the Cyclones their only score in the 5-1 loss on Saturday. The goal came earlier in the third period, which brought the score to 3-1. Lindenwood scored twice more afterwards.

On Sunday, Azevedo started with a goal to give the Cyclones an early 1-0 lead. Later on in the third period, Azevedo got an assist on an Adam Alcott goal.

“There’s certain guys on any team that you count on to score goals,” said coach and general manager Jason Fairman, “Everyone has a role on the team and when you look to your goal scorers, they carry most of the load in the scoring department.”

Azevedo led the Cyclones in points this weekend with a total of three points.

Cyclone defense can’t catch a break

Lindenwood hasn’t had trouble scoring so far this season, and both games against Iowa State was no exception.

“They move the puck extremely well,” said senior defenseman Nick Sandy, “They play very dedicated to their system.”

The Cyclones allowed Lindenwood to score five goals in Saturday’s game and allowed Lindenwood to score seven goals on Sunday. A total of nine Lindenwood players that found the back of the net through both games with Zach Mitchell, Zach Martin and Tommy Heinzman all scoring twice during the weekend for Lindenwood.

Lindenwood kept the Cyclone defense very busy. In Saturday’s game, Lindenwood put up 46 shots on goal, scoring on five shots. In Sunday’s game, Lindenwood put up 38 shots on goal, scoring on seven shots.

“Whether we were scoring or not, we need to have control of the puck,” Sandy said, “It was very very different this weekend, where I think Lindenwood had the puck for majority of the game.”

The Cyclones switched out senior goaltender Matt Goedeke for junior goaltender Nikita Kozak about halfway through Sunday’s game.

A rough start to league play

The games against Lindenwood were the first two games of league play for the Cyclones. Iowa State plays in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) along with Lindenwood, Ohio University, Robert Morris University and the University of Illinois.

The Cyclones tried to carry the momentum from their previous wins to Wentzville, but Lindenwood proved to be too much. The Cyclones now start league play 0-2, with their overall record dropping to 4-2. The next set of league games comes next weekend against Ohio.

But Lindenwood playing great was no surprise, as they’re one of the best teams in the nation. They improved their undefeated record to 6-0, with a 4-0 league record that saw them win both games against Robert Morris and Iowa State.

“They’re ranked No. 2,” Fairman said, “I think they’re the best team in the nation.”