Cyclone Hockey coach Jason Fairman said after sweeping Lindenwood last weekend that he expected his team to be the top-ranked team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association rankings.

The Cyclones came in at No. 5 in the rankings, and Augustana was the team that felt the wrath this weekend.

Cyclone Hockey combined for 29 goals over the weekend, by far the best all season, en route to a series sweep.

Augustana is a Division II ACHA team that entered the weekend with a 0-12 record on the season.

“We worry about ourselves, so it doesn’t matter if they’re 12-0 or 0-12,” Fairman said. “If we play our game then we have a good chance of success.”

Augustana wasn’t the first non-Division I team to visit Ames this season with the potential to be overlooked.

On the Tuesday before last weekend’s sweep of Lindenwood, Williston State, a junior college team, came in and handed the Cyclones their second regulation loss of the season.

Cyclone Hockey rested its top six forwards, three of its top five defensemen and played a team mostly made up of Division III players. Fairman wasn’t going to overlook the Vikings this weekend and came out with his regular starting lineup.

“Don’t take anyone lightly,”  said defenseman Kody Reuter, who netted his first career goal for Cyclone Hockey on Friday night. “No matter who you’re playing you have to show up and bring the effort, otherwise you’re going to find yourself running into trouble like we did last Tuesday.” 

Reuter, a sophomore, doesn’t have many opportunities to score as a stay-at-home defenseman, which made his goal a little sweeter than the other 11 that were scored Friday night.

“It felt pretty good,” Reuter said. “It’s been overdue, so it was good to get a goal tonight.”

The Cyclones were on the consistent attack over the weekend. The Cyclones controlled the puck for the entirety of the series, leading to just six shots on goal against goaltender Derek Moser and a shutout Friday night.

Moser battled an injury at the start of the year and was a step behind in the goaltender competition. He said it was important to go out and show everyone what he’s got.

“[You] definitely always have to take advantage of any opportunities you get,” Moser said.

Augustana only dressed 11 guys for the weekend, and it wasn’t the first time the Vikings had taken a beating this season.

Augustana is currently attempting to move up to the Division I ranks in the ACHA, so it scheduled a difficult schedule of multiple Division I teams. The Cyclones were the most talented opponent for the Vikings all season, and it showed in the 11-0 and 18-2 Cyclone victories over the weekend.

“This is more about a program that wants to go DI,” Fairman said. “It’s not easy building a program so I want to try to help if I can. You have to do what you have to do to help the growth of hockey, especially at the college level.”

The multitude of Cyclone Hockey goals was a result of the Cyclones being much more skilled than the Vikings, but also unleashing the anger the team built up from falling in the ACHA rankings. After sweeping the No. 2 team in the country, Cyclone Hockey fell from No. 3 to No. 5.

“It was a little bit of a slap in the face after we swept the No. 2 team in the nation,” Reuter said. “It gave us a little bit of extra motivation this weekend.”