A three-goal outburst in less than four minutes in the game’s final period sealed a huge win for Cyclone Hockey tonight, as No. 13 Iowa State took down No. 4 Ohio, 5-2.

Much like the last couple of weekends, the Cyclones got their Friday night off to a good start by striking first and holding their opponent scoreless in the first period.

The opening goal came courtesy of freshman defenseman Justin Paulson on a shot from the point, just after an Iowa State power play had ended. The goal was Paulson’s first as a member of the Cyclones, with assists on the play going to junior forward Trevor Sabo and sophomore forward A.J. Gullickson.

Following the goal, Ohio put pressure on the Cyclones throughout the remainder of the period by spending considerable time in the Iowa State zone. However, senior goalie Derek Moser was able to hold firm and keep the Cyclones ahead 1-0 heading into the first intermission.

Ohio eventually did break through early in the second period at the 5:32 mark after sophomore forward Tyler Harkins fired a shot that beat Moser from a sharp angle, which tied the game at one. The goal was Harkins 17th of the year and gave him 40 points on the season. 

This tie was short-lived, however, as a few minutes later Dylan Goggin, another freshman for the Cyclones, scored his fourth goal of the season to put the Cyclones back in front. Gullickson also picked up his second assist of the night on the score.

After no more scoring in the second period, the Cyclones broke the game open in the third with three unanswered goals from three different junior forwards.  

The first to score was Aaron Azevedo at the 5:28 mark, which gave him his 15th goal and 30th point on the season. Fifty-five seconds later, Tony Uglem buried his 17th goal of the season to make the game 4-1 in favor of the Cyclones.

The final goal for the Cyclones came after Ohio’s Drew Crandall was ejected for an illegal hit, which gave Iowa State a five-minute power play. Twenty-five seconds into the power play, Jon Severson scored his eighth goal of the season to extend the lead to 5-1.

Grant Hazal of the Bobcats scored a power-play goal with less than a minute remaining after a Jake Arroyo penalty to make the final score look a little better for Ohio, but it didn’t matter to the outcome of the game as the Cyclones still walked away with a 5-2 win.

Iowa State will go for the sweep and season-series win on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at Ames/ISU Ice Arena. The game will be the Cyclones’ last before the Central States Collegiate Hockey League tournament next weekend in Athens, Ohio.