Cyclone Hockey started the semester with a five-game winning streak. On Saturday night, they ended it with a six-game losing streak.

The Cyclones were swept once again this weekend after Indiana Tech won handily on Saturday by a score of 7-3 at Ames/ISU Ice Arena.  This is the third-straight series that Iowa State has been on the wrong end of a sweep.

It was a frustrating affair where seemingly every time the Cyclones had something going, it was quickly squashed seconds later by a high-scoring Warriors team. According to Cyclones’ assistant coach Mark Huber, those momentum-killing goals have been a recurring theme for the team as of late.

“[The goals] were obviously very disheartening and a little bit disappointing as well,” Huber said. “They kind of seem to be our backbreakers all season. I know that happened last night as well, and it’s also happened against Minot State and Illinois. That’s kind of hurt us, and I think that’s something we need to improve on second semester.”

Tonight, those backbreakers came courtesy of Indiana Tech redshirt junior forward Jace Childs, who twice scored a goal within 30 seconds of the Cyclones doing so. This was part of a huge night for Childs, who had a hat trick and an assist to total four points on the night.

Even Childs’ lone assist was a killer, as he fed Zach Bennett with an excellent pass to set up a Warriors goal off the opening face-off of the second period.

The goal came just seven seconds into the period and put the Warriors up 4-2, less than two minutes of game time after the Cyclones had tied it at two with a Tony Uglem goal.

The Bennett goal turned out to be the game-winner, as the Warriors scored four times in the second period while holding the Cyclones to just a single goal in the frame to put the game out of reach.

That lone goal for the Cyclones was a Colton Kramer power-play goal that brought the score to 5-3 and briefly made things interesting.

However, the aforementioned Childs, along with junior forward Ryan Attwood, scored two unanswered goals to chase Cyclones senior goalie Matt Goedeke from the net at the end of the second and give the game its final score of 7-3.  Neither team would score in the third period.

“It was just kind of an off series for the goaltenders,” Goedeke said. “The pucks just found their way through traffic and into the net. You’ve just got to forget about it. It’s one game, you can’t let it define your season.”

Not helping matters for the goaltenders was the fact that the defenders in front of them for the Cyclones seemed to be playing with tired legs throughout the series. The Cyclones depth problems of late have been well documented, and members of the team and staff acknowledge that it has worn on the team.

However, those same people were also adamant that the team wasn’t going to make excuses and blame depth problems for their recent losing streak.

Huber said there were factors that the Cyclones can control, namely a lack of execution, that have played a much larger role in the team’s recent woes. This sentiment was echoed by junior defenseman and assistant captain Nick Sandy.

“We were sloppy both nights in our own zone, not covering guys,” Sandy said. “Even when you’re tired, that’s just basics of defensive hockey.”

The Cyclones will now head into winter break with some soul-searching to do. In addition to having to overcome a rare extended losing streak, the team will also have a brutal January slate waiting for them when they come back. The Cyclones will play a series against four different teams ranked in the top 10 next month.

To prepare for the upcoming gauntlet, Huber said that he hopes his team takes some time away from the rink to clear their heads. Being a former player himself, the first-year assistant coach understands the toll that hockey’s long season can take and how much of a grind it can be.

For a team that’s not used to losing many games, Huber hopes that an extended break from that grind will lead to the team coming back with a renewed sense of purpose.

“The calendar year of 2017 didn’t turn out as we hoped, and I’m hoping the boys can dig deep and figure out what they want out of this season,” Huber said.