From Iowa State Daily
By Aleigha Bailey
After a split away series against Illinois State, redemption was on the minds of the Cyclones. Ultimately, this did not happen, as Iowa State fell to Oklahoma in the home-opening series. Reflection is needed with a costly penalty late in Game 1 and a shootout loss in Game 2.
Game one: High drive fuels the Cyclones’ ability to compete with the Sooners
Through the game, Iowa State held its ground in all aspects of the game. From the start, the Cyclones found themselves winning faceoffs and getting physical.
Between putting shots on goal and maintaining possession early in the game, Iowa State proved to have the force to press Oklahoma.
The Cyclones opened up the scoring at 13:10 in the first period. Left wing Ethan Pagel scored the goal and was assisted by right wing Sam Eaton. Not only was this the first goal of the night, but it was Pagel’s first career goal for Iowa State.
“Pretty good, there’s definitely more to come… It’s great to get one on the board right away,” Pagel said.
Although the Cyclones had the lead, the Sooners would strike back, and the period would end in a tie.
With a first-period tie on the mind, Iowa State needed to strike back to take the lead. Throughout the second period, the Cyclones stood out both offensively and defensively.
Oklahoma received two penalties, and Iowa State earned two power-play opportunities but ultimately made nothing of their chances.
Following those missed scoring opportunities, Eaton found the back of the net at 7:01 in the period; the goal was assisted by right defense Gabe Myers and left defense Greg Harley.
With a goal and an assist on the board, Eaton looked like a standout for the Cyclones.
“It feels good to get on the score sheet always, but we gotta find a way to win the game… if we don’t win the game, the goals mean nothing,” Eaton said.
A sense of accountability is needed as Iowa State continues to come up short in the crucial moments of the game.
The period carried out with both teams gaining energy resurgences and skaters thrown into the boards.
To wrap up the period, the Sooners scored a goal at 1:27 in the period.
Third-period collapse costs Iowa State the game
A sense of déjà vu hits each time the Cyclones hit the third period. Despite a game of offensive dominance, Iowa State can’t get ahead early enough in the game to come out on top.
“We’ve been saying it for five weeks, we can’t come out slow, but that’s what we’ve done… It’s gonna take more than a miracle, it’s gonna be up to them,” Iowa State Assistant Coach Bryan Kurpiewski said.
The question begins to arise: how long will connecting in the third period be an obstacle for the team?
With a tie on the line, the Cyclones began making preventable errors, which once again cost them the game.
Between turnovers, penalties and a decline in shots on goal, Iowa State lost its spark.
Throughout the third period, the Cyclones had six shots on goal, but nothing connected.
The game-determining moment came when Iowa State got a roughing penalty at 17:17 in the third period. With a power play for the Sooners, the team found itself scoring the go-ahead goal to take the victory.
Oklahoma didn’t leave it at that, as Iowa State pulled its goalie to attempt a game-tying goal, and an unattended crease was waiting for the Sooners. With 47 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma netted the final goal of the night.
The home opener concluded with a 4-2 Sooners victory.
Game two: Penalty frenzy
In Game two of the home opening series, both teams’ energy continued to soar. Between both teams, 13 penalties and two ejections were assigned.
With two game misconduct calls in the first period, the tension between Iowa State and Oklahoma was set for a highly chippy game.
The two game misconducts came from a late cross-check that the Sooner’s captain inflicted on the Cyclone captain’s face.
In a moment of retaliation, defenseman Andrew Franey let the Oklahoma captain have it, and he was ejected from the game for game misconduct.
Following the ejections, the penalties began to fly left and right. Despite being on the power play multiple times, Iowa State only found a scoring opportunity once in the game.
That electric goal came 45 seconds into the third period. The goal was scored by left wing Matthew Mahoney and was assisted by center Dylan Hender and forward John Kovarik.
Similarly, the Sooners only profited from one power play in the second period.
Come up short in the shootout
With yet another slow start, Iowa State found itself in the third period down by two goals.
After the first period, the Cyclones were down by two. The second period opened with Iowa State getting one on the board. 49 seconds into the second, Mahoney lit the lamp.
Despite finally getting on the board, the Sooners struck back three minutes later to take back a two-goal lead.
Once the game hit the third period, Iowa State had to come up big to get back in the game.
With the power play goal from Mahoney in the third period, the Cyclones were still down by one goal.
At 10:18 in the third period, Myers scored, assisted by forward Michael Mulkerrin and Kovarik.
This goal would be the go-ahead goal to send the game into overtime.
During overtime, it became anyone’s game; both teams put up near game-clinching goals, but ultimately, things went to a shootout.
Between the two off the post shots or the four blocked shots by Iowa State, the desire to come up big was heavy on the team’s mind.
The Sooners also began to press the Cyclones’ goalie William Pinney, but he found the ability to shut down those attempts.
As the clock hit zero in overtime, a shootout became the determining factor for victory.
Ultimately, Iowa State fell short as the team went two out of five on its shot attempts. The Sooners went three out of five on their attempts to secure the victory.
The Cyclones have to take this tough series and push forward, as the next task on the agenda is taking on Waldorf in a home-and-away series.
The first game will take place Oct. 3 in Mason City, Iowa. Following game one, the second game will be held on Oct. 4 at Ames Ice Arena.
(Originally published at https://iowastatedaily.com/322993/sports/late-starts-haunt-iowa-state-swept-during-home-opening-series/)
