Cyclone Hockey came into this weekend looking for revenge. Instead, they found themselves on the wrong end of a shutout in the first game of the series.

Central Oklahoma, who knocked the Cyclones out of the playoffs last season en route to a national championship, kept Iowa State off the scoreboard for all 60 minutes of game time and handed the Cyclones a 2-0 loss, dropping ISU to 11-3-1 on the season.  

“We had some point blank chances that we didn’t capitalize on,” said head coach Jason Fairman. “When you don’t capitalize on the chances like we had tonight, you’re going to lose against a team like that. That’s exactly what happened.”

In a quick moving first period, it was hard for either team to capitalize on their chances due to stout goaltending. 

Despite numerous good opportunities for both teams, both Derek Moser of the Cyclones and Alex Henry of the Bronchos stopped every shot that came their way in the first frame, keeping the game scoreless heading into the intermission.

The second period featured much of the same from the two goalies, as both Moser and Henry continued to play at a high level and make highlight-reel saves to keep the game even at zero. 

The most impressive of these saves came when Henry made a great sprawling save at the 8:15 mark in the period to keep the Cyclones off the board. On the other side, Moser was able to make several consecutive stops to temporarily stave off a Bronchos offensive attack that outshot the Cyclones 17-8 in the period.

The Bronchos eventually were able to break through, however, when Jake Daughtry beat Moser with a top-shelf shot to give the Bronchos a 1-0 advantage late in the second. The Cyclones nearly got one back on a rush with a tipped-puck late in the period, but Henry closed the door to keep Central Oklahoma up one goal heading into the intermission.

The Bronchos added to their lead less than three minutes into the third period when Donald Danroth beat Moser to the high glove side on a 2-on-1 rush. From there, Central Oklahoma went into defensive mode and clamped down on the struggling Cyclone offensive attack.

Even with 15 shots in the final frame, Iowa State wasn’t able to solve Henry and the score remained 2-0 all the way until the final horn sounded. The shutout was the first time all season that the Cyclones had been held scoreless in a game.

“I think we were chance for chance for them, maybe even more,” said sophomore defenseman/forward Anthony Song. “We just couldn’t score.”

Indeed, it was generally an even affair throughout, with the final shot total ending at 36-32 in favor of UCO. All things considered, the Cyclones actually did play well in most facets of the game, particularly on defense and in net.

Song and Fairman know that ultimately, however, the Cyclones have to be able to convert on its scoring chances as in order to beat a team as good as Central Oklahoma. To do that, both agreed that the best thing is for the team’s players to put Friday’s offensive performance behind them and move on to Saturday’s game. 

In addition to finishing chances on Saturday, the Cyclones will also look to improve another, more intangible aspect of their game: their energy. 

Fairman and Song, along with junior forward Colton Kramer, all felt that the Cyclones’ energy was lacking on Friday night compared to Central Oklahoma’s, and that coming out with a jump on Saturday could be the key to finishing this weekend with a series split.

“I think that’ll play a big factor [Saturday],” Kramer said.