It wasn’t anywhere near the dominating performance that they had last night, but Cyclone Hockey still got the job done nonetheless against Arkansas in the final game of the series between the two teams, winning by a score of 3-2. With the win, the Cyclones improved their record to 8-2-0 on the season.

For the second consecutive game, Iowa State got off to a quick start with an early goal courtesy of Aaron Azevedo off an assist form Jake Arroyo. The goal came just four minutes and 12 seconds into the game, and was set up after the Razorbacks’ Jesse Foskey committed an early penalty, which the Cyclones were able to convert into a goal just seven seconds into the power play.

While the Cyclones controlled the puck for most of the first and had a few near goals in the period, the team wasn’t without some sloppy play early on. Multiple turnovers for the team led to some good chances for the Razorbacks, but senior goalie Matt Goedeke was able to stand tall and keep the puck out of the net to preserve a 1-0 lead for the Cyclones heading into the first intermission.

The second period featured two more goals for the Cyclones and a seemingly endless stream of penalties for both teams toward the end of the frame. What was a very chippy 20 minutes of play ended up resulting in two ejections (Cyclones Tony Uglem and Arkansas’ Cal Owens for fighting), four power play opportunities for the Cyclones and two for the Razorbacks.

One of those power play opportunities for the Cyclones resulted in a goal for the home team, as freshman forward Dylan Goggin got his first goal as a Cyclone after he was shoved into Arkansas goaltender Brock Thompson, allowing the puck to slide into the net. 

Before that, Adam Alcott snapped a wrist shot into the back of the net off a feed from Colton Kramer. When the period was all said and done, the Cyclones took a 3-0 lead into the second intermission.

While the Cyclones’ lead was never really threatened, Arkansas was nonetheless able to make the final score look a lot closer than the game actually was in the third period.  The Razorbacks scored two unanswered goals in the final frame, including one with just under three seconds remaining, to give the game its final score of 3-2.

The two goals were the only scores of the series for the Razorbacks. Collin Young got the first of the two off of a rebound in front of the net with 3:26 remaining in the game, and Luc Gradisar got the game’s final goal on a buzzer beating shot that also came from in front of the crease.

The two late goals were the only blemishes in what was an otherwise great series for all three Cyclone goaltenders, as well as the team’s defense.  Despite not being able to finish the series with zero goals allowed, the Cyclones still managed to go over 116 minutes straight minutes without giving up a goal in the series, and as a team only allowed the Razorbacks to get 41 shots on net in six periods.

The Cyclones will be back in action next weekend at Ames/ISU Ice Arena for a series against the UNLV Rebels.  The puck drops for game one at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.