The Iowa State Cyclones women’s hockey club faces off against Wisconsin-Lacrosse this weekend, which is currently on a 5-game losing skid. The demoralized Eagles are looking to bounce back versus the Cyclones.

The Cyclones were supposed to play Minnesota-Duluth on Jan. 23; however, the game was cancelled. Now, they are back at home facing the Eagles.

The two teams stand side by side in the standings, with the Cyclones having nine points and the Eagles having six, though the Eagles have played six fewer games. 

Iowa State was generating momentum before the break, winning three out of four against Nebraska and Lake Region State College, until they got blown out in a couple of games by Minnesota-Duluth. The Cyclones sit at 4-9-1 and want to take a step in the right direction as they head into the back half of the season. To start, they will need more point-producers up and down the lineup. 

Captain Tessa Strand is second in the D2 Women’s Independent Division in points among defensemen. Goal-scoring forwards Ellie Volkers and Tory Lacomy have sparked much-needed offense, and playmaker Abigail Moore has one goal but tallied nine assists in ten games. 

 Last season, the Iowa State women’s hockey club had 10 players who scored a point every 3 games. This year, that number diminishes to only 6. To get back on track, the Cyclones need similar point production from last year’s team.

Iowa State has had a bumpy start to its season, but the same could be said for the Wisconsin-LaCrosse Eagles. The Eagles scored an unthinkable 40 goals in their first two games when they squared off against Wisconsin-Stout, the only two games they have played all season; they won their first one 21-8 and then 19-3 in the next.

The first game featured a whopping five hat-tricks, including a five-goal performance from forward Joanna Swanson and a 7 point night by forward Callie Johnson, who tallied four goals and three helpers.

In their second game, the Eagles had the same number of shots on goal as in the first, with 76, but the goal-scoring was the complete opposite. Every skater but one recorded a goal in the winning effort.

They followed their record-setting start with another win against the University of Nebraska, 6-5, but they’ve been ice cold ever since. They were defeated in five straight games, being outscored 25-14.

It wasn’t all negative, because forward Abbey Lendzyk, who didn’t play in the matchups versus Wisconsin-Stout, has scored 15 goals in the six games she played, including a five-goal performance in the Eagles’ third win against Nebraska. 

She also leads the D2 Independent Division in points per game among players with three or more games played.

Stopping Lendzyk will be a key to victory if the Cyclones want to leave the weekend with two more wins. 

Iowa State will also need more contributions from the entire lineup, not only in this upcoming game, but for the rest of the year if they want to stay competitive. 

Last year, Iowa State and Wisconsin-LaCrosse each took a game when the Cyclones went on the road to face the Eagles at home. They will look to flip the script this weekend.

The first game will be played on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Ames Ice Arena.