Cyclone Hockey ends its CSCHL season on poor note
Senior defensive player Antti Helanto reaches for the puck while it is in Ohio’s possession. Iowa State suffered a 4-2 loss to the Bobcats on Nov. 1.
February 9, 2015
The Central States Collegiate Hockey League regular season has come to a close for the Cyclone Hockey team.
After a strong showing against the No. 2 Central Oklahoma Bronchos the weekend before, the No. 10 Cyclones (15-13-5) struggled in many aspects of the game in a series split against the No. 6 Robert Morris Eagles (27-4-2.)
The Cyclones, who will now have to settle for last place in the CSCHL, struggled mightily on the power play — going 1-for-14 on the weekend. They also conceded eight goals, something the defensive-minded team hasn’t done in a series all season.
Perhaps most frustrating of all, in the final game of the series, Robert Morris took advantage of a lapse in defense and knotted the game at three with moments left in the final period. The Cyclones would eventually win in a shootout, but the breakdown at the end of the game still left the team searching for answers.
“We blew a lead with 23 seconds left and did some things I didn’t like,” said Cyclone Hockey head coach Jason Fairman. “I don’t think it was a good weekend for us overall. I don’t like how we’re playing this late in the season. We’re making mistakes we were making at the beginning of the year and I’m not very happy about it.”
The problems went beyond the ones that were easily evident in statistics and spoke to details of the game that can go unnoticed, but can also change the tide of the game.
Assistant captain Antti Helanto pointed out a few of those “little things.”
Among other parts of the game, he said the team struggled on the board play in the corners and added that the defense did a poor job picking up trailers coming behind the opposing attack, which led to multiple scoring chances and the late game-tying goal.
Some of those can be partly attributed to one word — effort.
“At times the effort wasn’t where it’s supposed to be,” Helanto said after tacking on two points to his team-leading 24 points with two goals in the first game of the series. “On the road it is a little bit more challenging. And it is the part of the season where you get a little bit tired, not that it’s an excuse.”
One positive the team can take out of a largely negative weekend is that it managed to defeat the No. 6 team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
The team has echoed the statement that it can “beat anyone in the ACHA” if it is on its best game. That sentiment rang true after it split against a rolling Robert Morris team even while making mistakes.
“[The win] shows that the team has a lot of heart,” said forward Chase Rey, who contributed two assists in the shootout victory. “We have a great group of guys this year. Coming into the [final game of the series], we said we need to play for the guy right next to you, which helped us come back and win that game in a shootout.”
The Cyclones play the Illina Blackbirds in an exhibition series this weekend, but will have two weeks to prepare for the CSCHL tournament Feb. 20 to 22.
