The Cyclone Hockey team has a steep hill to climb in its last Central States Collegiate Hockey League series Feb. 6 and 7 in the standings and the games.

The Cyclones will take on No. 6 Robert Morris for a chance to move up in the CSCHL standings before the tournament starts Feb. 20. The Cyclones are currently two points behind Illinois for last place.

This matchup follows the Cyclones upset against No. 2 Central Oklahoma on Jan. 30 and a 2-1 loss the following night to the same opponent, a game in which head coach Jason Fairman said he saw the team’s best hockey of the season.

That series is something the team is looking to build upon.

“I thought we played the best hockey we have all season [against Central Oklahoma], and it showed that we can beat any team in the nation,” said assistant captain Nate Percy. “We just need to go out and set the tone right away. Hopefully we can carry the momentum from Central Oklahoma to this weekend.”

If the Cyclones stay in either the fifth or sixth spot in the standings, they will be forced to play a play-in game to advance in the CSCHL tournament. It is a long road back to avoid that game.

If the team manages to win both games against the Eagles and avoid overtime, it will grab six points in the league standings. That would put the Cyclones in third place if the current standings hold. But Illinois and Robert Morris still have two more CSCHL games to play after this weekend, putting the Cyclones’ CSCHL destiny in the hands of others.

Regardless of the case in the standings, the Cyclones have a chance to show the league that they can compete.

“I don’t think that historically what we’ve done in the past is something that we shouldn’t be worried about,” said veteran goaltender Scott Ismond. “It’s about who plays come playoff time, that’s what people remember. If we can carry some momentum in the last series, then we can make a name for ourselves come playoffs.”

With the CSCHL standings up in the air, the Cyclones would rather worry about the bigger picture. With four weeks left until the American Collegiate Hockey Association National Tournament, the team is still concerned about keeping that top-12 spot to avoid the play-in game.

“We want to win our league championship, but it’s more about nationals and rankings,” Fairman said. “I’m actually thinking more about our national rankings than the six points we could get in our league.”

The road hasn’t been too kind to the team so far this season, with a 1-5-3 record away from home in the ACHA. Robert Morris has been impressive on both sides of the home/away split this year, owning a 13-2 record. Robert Morris has also won 10 of its last 11 games. Its only loss in that span was against Illinois, a team that the Cyclones swept four weekends ago.

The Eagles are returning from a road sweep against the Ohio Bobcats, something that no other team has been able to accomplish this season at Ohio’s Bird Arena.

After the Cyclones were swept by the Eagles on home ice last time around, Fairman said that they want to go in with the mindset of “business as usual.”

“I’m more worried about us. If we execute, I think we can beat anybody,” Fairman said. “This year, to be quite frank, I haven’t worried about the other team as much. I’ve worried about us executing because I really think that outside of a few games, I’ve been really pleased with how we’ve played. It doesn’t matter what teams throw at us, we have been effective. The goal is to be the best we can be as a team.”

The Cyclones will travel to Illinois to take on the Robert Morris Eagles at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at Robert Morris University Island Sports Center.