Cyclone Hockey ended its three-game losing streak with a 5-0 win against the Indiana Tech Warriors on Oct. 10 at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena, but the margin of victory could have been even bigger.

The Cyclones outshot the Warriors 62-15, but failed to capitalize on many of their scoring chances — a familiar theme for the Cyclones’ young season.

“You outshoot a team 62-15, and you don’t score more than five goals, it’s been a broken record for [us] this season,” said head coach Jason Fairman. “I don’t know what to do about it, and I suppose I have to figure out something. I just can’t explain it.”

That concern was certainly evident in the first period when the Cyclones put 21 shots on net compared to the four shots by the Warriors. J.P. Kascsak put up the only goal in the period, finishing a Kody Reuter blue line shot off a rebound and giving the Cyclones a 1-0 lead. The score remained unchanged going into the intermission, despite the multiple scoring opportunities by the Cyclones.

The Cyclones came out firing in the second period but again had trouble finishing. After putting up 19 more shots on net, the Cyclones could only put one more goal on the board. Kascsak drove to the net from the left side and finished a backhand shot that went just inside the left post for his second goal.

The Cyclones finally found their scoring breakthrough in the third period, scoring three goals on 22 shots. Kascsak finished his hat trick by scoring his third goal, which was also the last goal of the game.

Eero Helanto had a goal and two assists while also having a big game on the defensive end to help keep the shutout.

“It’s great to get some goals and assists and give me some confidence moving forward,” Helanto said. “It was a hard game, but it was a game we were supposed to win. I’m glad we got some goals and hopefully we can get a winning streak going.”

Kascsak came into the game with only two goals for the season, a small tally for a senior forward that was predicted to help lead the Cyclone offense. He ended that slump in big fashion with his hat trick.

“Personally, I’ve been in a little slump so it was great to get some goals,” Kascsak said. “My linemates helped me out a lot. We had some great communication on the ice.”

The big performances by the two seniors are something that the Cyclones will have to continue if they want to end their recent offensive troubles.

“Our seniors really need to step up, we are depending on them to get this offense going,” Fairman said. “It’s encouraging to see some of our seniors have a big night.”