Another week, another series against a top ten opponent for Cyclone Hockey.

Coming off a split weekend with defending champion Central Oklahoma, the Cyclones will cap off a grueling November slate with a trip to Bensenville, Illinois, to take on the Robert Morris University Eagles. For Iowa State, it’ll be the second time this month the team has taken a trip to the state of Illinois to take on a fellow Central States College Hockey League opponent ranked in the top ten.

“We have, year in and year out, the toughest league in the country,” said head coach and general manager Jason Fairman.  “It’s been known as such for years.”

After being shutout for the first time this season on Friday night, the Cyclones were able to bounce back and come away with a 4-3 win, and a 1-1 record on the weekend. This has been a recurring trend for the Cyclones all season, as the team is currently 4-0 in games coming after a loss.

The Cyclones were led on Saturday night by junior forward Aaron Azevedo, who continued his stretch of stellar play by adding another two goals to his team leading nine on the season. Since he first arrived on campus two seasons ago, Azevedo has been an offensive star for the team, meaning his most recent streak probably shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

Still, Azevedo is prepared for any extra attention he may receive from Robert Morris as a result of his recent play. Being on a line with other big-time scoring threats like Tony Uglem and Colton Kramer, Azevedo says both he and his line mates are used to getting other teams’ best shots.

“That’s something that we have learned to come with the last three years, me and my line mates,” Azevedo said. “One thing that we just have to do is, hopefully, first period, try to learn what they’re doing and try to figure out where the weaknesses are and exploit them throughout the game.”

Figuring out each other’s weaknesses shouldn’t take very long, as the Eagles and the Cyclones are two teams that are very familiar with each other. As league opponents, the two are guaranteed to play each other at least four times every season, and sometimes even a fifth time during Central States College Hockey League tournament play.  

This was the case last season, where the Cyclones went a perfect 5-0 against the Eagles, with three of the five wins coming in overtime or a shootout.

This means there are usually no surprises when the teams play each other. Fairman said the Eagles typically play a high-flying, offensive style of hockey similar to Central Oklahoma. The stats appear to back that up, as the Eagles have averaged over four and a half goals per game so far this season.

The x-factor in this weekend’s series will likely be the performance of the Cyclones’ defense. While the unit has generally played well as of late, they’ve suffered a rash of injuries in recent games that has left them undermanned for the moment.

Junior defenseman Brit Brothen said the key to the team overcoming its lack of depth will be team members taking care of their bodies before the series even starts. While there are plenty of precautions that can be taken to protect themselves, Brothen still acknowledged the challenge will be significant when game time comes around.

“It’s definitely tough. We try and rotate evenly throughout as much as we can, but when it comes to special teams, it’s kind of hard,” Brothen said. “Coach [Mark] Huber has been really good about rotating us out after a penalty kill…but, we’ve just got to come ready to play and know it’s going to be a tough one.”