Young athletes across the nation grow up with a dream. The dream stems from many athletes’ desires to represent their home country — a dream that will fail to take shape for many of them.

For two hockey players at Iowa State, that dream has become reality.

Cyclone Hockey seniors Matt Cooper and J.P. Kascsak were named to the U.S.A. men’s hockey team for the 2015 Winter World University Games in Granada, Spain. They both left for training Jan. 30, with the games slated for Feb. 4 to 14.

The men’s hockey team has consisted of only American Collegiate Hockey Association players since 2001. Since that time, only two teams in ACHA have had at least a player on the U.S.A. roster for every tournament — the Ohio Bobcats and the Cyclones.

For both of the Cyclone players, that dream is all it’s cracked up to be.

“It’s a heck of an honor,” Cooper said with a wide grin. “I get to represent my school, my country and my hometown. There is nothing better. It’s something you hope to happen since you’ve been a kid. It’s a really cool opportunity that not many people get a chance to do.”

Cooper has furthered his résumé as one of the best goalies in the ACHA this season. He seemed to be an easy selection to the team after posting a 2.06 goals against average, good for fourth in the ACHA and a 92.9 save percentage, third in the ACHA, through 23 games (min. 15 games played.)

This is also Cooper’s second time donning the red, white and blue. He played for the 2013 U.S.A. men’s hockey team that finished fourth at the Winter World University Games in Trentino, Italy, the highest finish for the men’s hockey team in the history of the games.

He split time in the net with Wyatt Waselenchuk, the goaltender for the Minot State Beavers at the time. Cooper did his part by shutting out the Swedish national team in a 2-0 win, which was the first shutout in the history of the U.S.A men’s hockey team. He also played in the net for the bronze medal game against Russia, where the team lost 6-2.

“It’s really cool to have that experience [playing in two World University Games] and be able to use that to help my teammates,” Cooper said. “We have seven or eight guys returning from the last team. Hopefully I can use that experience to bring back a medal. It’s awesome to bring J.P. [Kascsak] with me for his first time too.”

Kascsak, playing in his first World University Games, was named an alternate on the 2013 U.S.A. roster but didn’t travel with the team.

He started the year for the Cyclones, playing through a nagging wrist injury that hampered his ability to score. He started to overcome that injury after he picked up a hat trick against Indiana Tech on Oct. 10.

Despite the slow start, Kascsak is tied for second on the Cyclones with 11 goals and tied for fourth in points with 19.  

The trip to Spain also comes with a bittersweet feeling.

Both seniors, Kascsak and Cooper will be missing the next two weekends of the season before the Central States Collegiate Hockey League tournament on Feb. 20. They have already missed the series split against the No. 2 Central Oklahoma Bronchos.

“It’s our last season and we have to go away from our team, so you just hope your team is deep enough and strong enough to be alright,” Kascsak said. “But I just want to experience everything. I want to go out there and make my team, my family proud and just be grateful.”

And with the next weekend series arriving with top-12 implications against No. 7 Robert Morris, which could have a big factor on whether or not the Cyclones avoid a play-in game in the national tournament, the team could sure use the two.

“It is going to be a big loss, but I think that we have guys that can fill the spot,” said Cyclone Hockey head coach Jason Fairman before the Central Oklahoma series. “We will have [Scott] Ismond stepping up in goal and there [are] guys that are waiting to step in [Kascsak’s] role. Hopefully those guys can step up and make an impact.”

As the Cyclones return from a series against Ohio and another against Illinois, both bitter rivals to the Cyclones, a little more than two weeks ago, Kascsak and Cooper may have been pulled between the Cyclones and team U.S.A.

Ohio sends Tyler Benson and Joe Breslin while Illinois ships Michael Harris with Joe Olen and his brother John Olen. With the rivalry running deep during the season, the pair will have to put those feelings aside for the team.

“I’ve thought about [playing with them] for a long time,” Kascsak said. “When you play against them it’s hard to like them. It’s not going to be awkward or anything you just have to know that everyone is there for a reason. I probably won’t be giving buddy passes or anything, but we are all working toward the same goal.”

But the question that some people may want to know is, do the players know Spanish?

“Do I know Spanish? A little bit, you know, ‘cómo estás,’ ‘me llamo,’” Cooper said, chuckling, after he learned that Kascsak took Spanish throughout his schooling. “I took three years of it in like eighth and ninth grade. I did get a big English-Spanish dictionary for white elephant at Christmas, so I know important phrases like ‘Dónde ir al baño.’”

The team will start its tournament against Japan at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 5 in Granada, Spain at the Granada Sports Palace.