Cyclone Hockey is currently a beleaguered squad that is hurting in more ways than one.

In addition to having a now four-game losing streak, extended thanks to a sweep at the hands of Minot State, the team has suffered a rash of injuries and off-ice issues that have caused the team’s depth to be heavily tested.

Things have gotten so bad that during last weekend’s games against the Beavers, the Cyclones had forwards playing on the blue line due to a lack of bodies.

“Every team deals with injuries, but this is the worst it’s been since I’ve been here and we didn’t have that much depth to begin with,” said head coach and general manager Jason Fairman. “We’ve had more games where we’ve had less than enough guys to fill out the full roster for a game than we’ve had with guys.”

One of those players who had to make the move to defenseman was freshman center, Dylan Goggin.

After sophomore defenseman/forward Anthony Song and freshman defenseman Max Olson both left the game on Friday against Minot State with injuries, Goggin had to make the transition from center to the blue line mid-game.

Fairman said he was comfortable making that transition because of Goggin’s defensive capabilities as a center, as well as the fact that the team had previously gotten him some reps in practice as a defenseman in case a scenario like Friday’s were to arise.

Goggin himself wasn’t thrown off by the move, as he’s had previous experience filling in on defense going back to his days in juniors and high school.

Additionally, Goggin said a full week of practice, combined with watching film and getting advice from more experienced guys like Kody Reuter and Nick Sandy, has helped to make the transition easier going into this weekend.

“(I’m) just listening to those guys and just being willing to do whatever it takes to help the team,” Goggin said. “D-zone is the same as playing center, so that helps a lot.”

As for this weekend, the Cyclones will turn their attention to the Indiana Tech Warriors in their last series before winter break.

The Warriors are a unique team on Iowa State’s schedule, as they’re an National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics team that’s allowed to recruit scholarship players onto the roster, much like the Cyclones’ in-state rival Waldorf.

This strategy has paid dividends for the Warriors, as the team is currently 13-0-1 and on a six-game winning streak. Although they aren’t a traditional ACHA opponent, Fairman knows this matchup will nonetheless present a significant challenge for the Cyclones.

“They’re going to be good,” Fairman said. “I see their coach on the road quite a bit. He has a lot of game scouting and I know that’s going to be reflected in their talent level. It’s not going to be an easy weekend.”

While the Cyclones’ ability to handle the Warriors’ scholarship players with their lack of depth will be a key factor in the outcome of the series, another area where the Cyclones will have to improve to get back on track is their goal scoring.

The team managed to only score one goal the entire weekend, and that came via defensemen Reuter. The Cyclones’ forwards were completely shut out the entire weekend.

Junior forward Colton Kramer said Minot State’s gap control played a factor in keeping the Cyclones out of the net and the team couldn’t get any rushes going as a result. To turn things around this weekend, Kramer said getting the puck in deep, along with not doing too much offensively, will be key.

“Obviously we want to come out strong, but you don’t want to think about it too much,” Kramer said. “Just kind of keep playing your game and the goals will come.”

One more challenge the Cyclones will have to overcome is the fact that the series against Indiana Tech is the team’s last before the semester ends.

Fairman and Kramer both acknowledged that the last series before winter break always presents a challenge because of everything on the minds of the players, specifically school and the upcoming long break.

However, Fairman did seem optimistic about some aspects of the break. Particularly, the opportunity it presents for the team to get healthy.

Fairman said he was proud of the Cyclones for the way they’ve battled this semester, despite all of the injuries and other issues the team has faced. He also pointed to the Cyclones’ current record this season as a positive because of all the adversity the team has gone through.

“I just hope we can everyone healthy for next semester, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of team we have,” Fairman said. “If we can do that with what we’ve got this semester, and we can carry that with a full roster next semester, it’ll be fun to see where that leads us.”