The effort was there this past weekend for Cyclone Hockey. Now, they have to finish the job.

The No. 10 Cyclones suffered a sweep at the hands of rival and No. 9 Illinois last weekend, avenging an Iowa State sweep back in November. Although Cyclone players and coaches were pleased with how they battled, the result and knowing how close they came to winning left a bitter taste in the team’s mouth. 

“All the games are going to be like that from here on out,” said head coach and general manager Jason Fairman. “You’ve gotta come on top, and the years that we’ve done that we’ve had a better record.”

Coming out on top won’t get any easier this weekend, as the Cyclones play host to another Central States Collegiate Hockey League rival in Lindenwood University.

Not only do the Lions currently have the best win percentage in the CSCHL, but the team is also riding a five-game win streak and sits at No. 3 in the country.

This marks the fifth consecutive week in which the Cyclones have played a top 10 opponent. Not only that, it’s the fourth consecutive week  the Cyclones have played a team within their league.

Given there are only five teams in the CSCHL, that means every team in the league, including the Cyclones, is currently ranked in the top 10. Fairman has said in the past that the league is the toughest in the nation, but the team embraces the gauntlet nonetheless.

“It helps us prepare for the national tournament,” said Fairman. “It’s not easy, but it makes us a better team.”

In terms of Lindenwood specifically, Fairman said one particular challenge the Lions bring is stingy defense. Much like other CSCHL foes, Lindenwood plays fast and can score, but what really sets the Lions apart is their ability to not sacrifice sound defense to do it.

The stats certainly back that up. Lindenwood currently has the fewest goals allowed in the division, allowing only 43 goals in 25 games of ACHA play.

For the Cyclones, a big help toward breaking through that Lions defense would be the return of leading goal scorer Tony Uglem, who was knocked out of Friday night’s game against the Illini with a concussion.

Uglem took a questionable hit to the face from Illini senior forward James McGing, which didn’t draw a penalty despite Uglem suffering a cut above his left eyebrow. Although Uglem is still dealing with the injury as of now, he said things are trending upward in terms of his status for this weekend.

“Right now, everything’s looking good,“ Uglem said. “Hopefully I’ll be back and get all healed up, and hopefully be ready to go this weekend.”

Uglem also said  despite not being able to play the back-end of last weekend’s series, he harbors no animosity toward McGing for the hit.

The Cyclones’ junior forward mentioned the two actually played with each other on Team U.S.A. in the World University Games last year, and that he knows there was no intent to injure on the hit.

Still, the Cyclones could’ve definitely used Uglem’s scoring presence in a close game like last Saturday’s. His absence meant other players had to try and step up to fill the void left by not having arguably the team’s top playmaker.

One player who, perhaps unexpectedly, did that was junior defenseman Kurt Halbach. Halbach, who missed the entire first semester due to injury, scored his first goal of the season in Saturday night’s game against the Illini on a shot from the blue line.

“[Scoring a goal] feels pretty good,” Halbach said. “I don’t usually get to do it too much so when I do it’s a nice feeling.”

Given Halbach did miss the entire first semester, he wasn’t on the ice the last time these two teams met back in October. The Cyclones managed to split the series with Lindenwood that weekend, which gave the Lions one of only three home losses this season.

Even with missing that series, Halbach still isn’t worried about adjusting to the Lions’ speed. Echoing his head coach, Halbach said the way the Cyclones’ schedule is set up has prepared him for just about anything Lindenwood throws at him offensively.

Instead, Halbach is more focused on ensuring the Cyclones’ effort and ability to battle carries over from last weekend to this one. Along with proper execution, Halbach said they will likely be the biggest key to Iowa State getting back in the win column.

“We need to keep our intensity up, especially playing Lindenwood,” Halbach said. “We have to make sure we’re playing as hard as we can all the time, because these guys are fast. That’s the main goal.”