Cyclone Hockey was one of the best teams in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, entering the 2014-15 season ranked the No. 5 team in the country. It exited the season in the top eight. 

AFter the team suffered its season-ending loss to eventual national champion Central Oklahoma, which the Cyclones beat earlier in the season, it wanted to make a change— a change for the better. 

And a strong recruiting class may be exactly what the Cyclones need to take their game to the next level. 

“I think guys realize that we are close. We are close,” said Cyclone Hockey coach Jason Fairman the week after the national tournament loss in March. “If we can add some elements with our recruiting class next year, I think guys will think, ‘Wow, we were so close this year.’”

Some of those elements Fairman will focus on will be the goaltender position along with finding natural goal scorers. 

The Cyclones struggled all season to score consistently, and by looking at the returning lineup with the recruits Fairman is targeting to bring in, it may not be a problem next season. 

The program doesn’t officially announce recruits, but Fairman said over the phone that next year’s team “looks really good.”

One of the young players on the team will have a chance to improve on his strong freshman season and will be one of the natural goal scorers Fairman seeks.

Zack Johnson was leading the team in goals his freshman season with 14 before suffering an upper-body injury that caused him to miss the rest of the season. 

“Zack’s been learning on the job being a freshman, but he has shown some great signs and has a great work ethic,” Fairman said in October of last season. “He is a bit of a catalyst; he can create things and make guys around him better.”

The young defensive core of Kody Reuter and Jake Uglem will continue the Cyclones’ short history of exceptional defense.

Cyclone Hockey offers season tickets and single-game tickets on its website, cyclonehockey.com.