Cyclone Hockey preps for another Big Weekend

Weekend Information
#2 Central Oklahoma @ #10 Iowa State
Dates: Friday and Saturday
Puck Drop: Fri - 7:30pm, Sat - 8:00pm

Iowa State’s hockey team is hoping to have a second big weekend when the Cyclones take on 2nd ranked Central Oklahoma this Friday and Saturday. Last Friday, ISU hosted Iowa in front of a sellout crowd winning 6-1, then sweeping the Hawks with a 3-0 win in a neutral rink in Cedar Rapids.

The Cyclones carry a 17-11-5 record into the game along with their top 10 ranking. That includes losing to UCO on the road by just a 1-0 score.

“This is a huge weekend for us and for us to stop them this weekend we need to play a full 60 minutes both nights,” Senior Nate Percy said. “We dominated them earlier in the year after the back end of playing Oklahoma so I feel we just need to play a full 60 both nights.”

This comes on a weekend where the Cyclones have two players absent for the World University Games in Senior’s Matt Cooper and JP Kascack.

“It’s gonna be a battle and we are playing without Cooper and Kascack due to the World University Games but I feel we have the depth to compete and sweep this weekend.” Percy added.

However the players that are staying back for perhaps the biggest weekend series of the year in Ames can produce a smash mouth team. Nate Percy joins the player that grabbed a hat trick during last Friday’s win against Iowa - Sr. Scott Antonsen.

Antonsen has been a forced to be reckoned with all season and will need to be on the offensive against this defensive minded Central Oklahoma team.

“I think that UCO will be better competition than Iowa was and they are ranked #2 for a reason,” Antonsen said. “Having said that I think that if we funnel pucks to the net and our line can keeps up the chemistry we have then we can put up more offensive production we need to push the pace and play our game and there is no reason we can’t come out with 2 wins this weekend.”

This will be the last home series against a ranked team before the Cyclones take off for the CSCHL Tournament on February 20th.

“This is a huge momentum Weekend for us going into nationals and the rest of the year,” Percy said. “If we can get a sweep over them this will set us up really well for nationals.”