Hockey brings people together in every caliber that the game is played. From mite hockey, which begins as young as 8 years old, to the big leagues, fans find a common ground and admire what the sport of hockey is all about.

Cyclone Hockey has tried to carry a legacy beyond what it does on the ice. 

As affiliates of the American Collegiate Hockey Association, the team has the responsibility of supporting itself as an organization — meaning players essentially have to “pay to play.”

That doesn’t stop the team from going above and beyond to fundraise for those in need. 

The team has honored and helped those in need through donations and fundraisers that go to local causes such as auctioning merchandise for the Lions Club, Pink in the Rink, Military night, Tip-A-Cyclone, past involvement with the Boys and Girls Club and more.

From the moment players are taken into consideration in the recruiting process, players know the value that Cyclone Hockey puts to helping society.

“We want those kinds of kids here,” Division III coach Scott Ismond said. “When you put on the uniform you’re representing Iowa State, yourself and Cyclone Hockey.”

It’s the community that Cyclone Hockey plays in that makes the team as successful as it is.

“We look at ourselves as a community team,” Ismond said. “We rely on the support of the community, Ames the community and the Iowa State community to help support our team. Without the fan base and that support, we aren’t around, so a lot of it is giving back to that community too.”

Senior captain Chase Rey admires the work that the team does through every event.

“We all enjoy doing it,” Rey said. “It’s a lot of fun giving back to kids that don’t necessarily have as fortunate as a life as us so it’s nice to be able to do that for them.”

Coach Jason Fairman believes the actions of his players extend to their experiences as a whole through college.

“I think it’s important that players give back, it’s a part of the college experience, it’s one of the reasons you go to college to become a more well-rounded person,” Fairman said. “We’ve had a lot of worthy causes, and it’s important that players are involved with that, and they enjoy it.”

And for some guys, the connection is more personal.

Rey, a St. Peters, Missouri, native, had a strong connection to Military night — one of the fundraisers that the team did to honor and raise money for those who serve in the armed forces.

“A good buddy of mine that I met at Iowa State decided to join the Marines last year,” Rey said. “I absolutely love what he’s doing and I thought it would be cool to buy him a jersey and give it back to him, and I know he will enjoy that, so it meant a lot to me to give something to him.”

While there is an ACHA recognition for teams with outstanding community service, Cyclone Hockey said that’s not what drives its charity work. The team looks at it as a “donation of time” for a cause greater than themselves.

“Two years ago, we were finalists for the ACHA community service award,” Fairman said. “And we have improved our community involvement since then.”

The team has scaled back on the amount of charity events it does because it became too much. 

“One of the challenges in this day in age [is] with background checks and all of that,” Fairman said. “We’ve had to actually dial back a little bit on our charities because anytime there is children involved [it gets expensive] for us and the charities.”

For the recent event at the Sports Page, a local sports bar, called “Tip-A-Cyclone” the team left it up to the manager of the restaurant to pick what charity meant most to them. And without a question, it was Children’s Cancer Connection in Des Moines.

Tip-A-Cyclone was the most favored and unique charity event among the Cyclone Hockey locker room.

“I think when we did Tip-A-Cyclone that was probably the coolest event, and we raised a lot of money for one specific cause,” Rey said. “So I think that was unique to experience being a waiter and take those tips and [giving] back was something special to me.”