First Period:

EMU: Koester(Porter) 8:01[1-0 EMU] *Power Play Goal
ISU: Peterson(Majkozak, Mytnik) 8:50[1-1 Tie]

Second Period:

ISU: Mueller(Mytnik) 3:49[2-1 ISU] *Power Play Goal
EMU: Olgren(Pinkerton, Jensen) 16:34[2-2 Tie] *Power Play Goal

Third Period:

ISU: Peterson(Krueger) 3:04[3-2 ISU] *Power Play Goal
EMU: Porter(Pinkerton, Olgren)  9:00 [3-3 Tie] *Power Play Goal
ISU: Neville 14:55 [4-3 ISU] 

Ann Arbor, Michigan- The Iowa State Cyclones flipped the script from the previous night, defeating the Eastern Michigan Eagles 4-3 on a goal from Aaron Neville with 5:05 remaining in the third period to clinch the two game split, giving both teams 4 points on the weekend.

Eastern Michigan started off the scoring in the first period on a dead perfect shot from Kelly Koester which went right over the top right shoulder of the Iowa State goaltender Trent Baker, to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead with his power play goal. Iowa State however responded just 49 seconds later after the Eagles couldn't get the puck out of their own zone and Jayson Peterson took advantage to tie the game up, which concluded the scoring in the first period, a theme that would commence for the entire evening.

Iowa State scored 3:49 in on the power play on a lucky shot from Adam Mueller which somehow magically found its way to the back of the net, to give the Cyclones a 2-1 lead. The Eagles did eventually return the favor at the 16:34 mark on Dan Olgren's goal also on the power play to even the score at 2 goals a piece going into the third period.

Iowa State opened up the scoring in the third period at the 3:04 mark on a strange play that found the puck on the one side of the ice and all of a sudden in the back of the net, credited to Jayson Peterson to give the Cyclones a 3-2 lead. However, to keep the alternating theme going, the Eagles ~6 minutes later tied the score up again on a nice deflection power play goal to tie the game up at 3. Both teams had their chances in the final ten minutes, but Iowa State seemed to take advantage of a tiring EMU defense and after a couple of minutes of sustained pressure, hitting the post, and having the much better scoring opportunities, Iowa State's Aaron Neville found a way to get the puck in the back of the net, to give the Cyclones a 4-3 lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the evening. The Eagles tried in the last minutes to put the puck on net, but ISU did an excellent job bunkering in to preserve the 4-3 victory.

There were three real stories to the game. The first was that it was a physical contest, with lots of hitting along the boards and around the ice. The second was that the game was controlled by the special teams which was a direct result of the physicality of the game, as five of the seven goals scored in the game were on the power play. Lastly, was that it was about as evenly played of a hockey game as you will see, both teams had 30 shots on the game; both teams fought hard to the end, and it was an entertaining game to watch and the Cyclones just found the magic touch in the third period to pull out a key split for them. 

Iowa State came into this weekend as the #6 team in the country, and through this one game they didn't really do a ton to dispute it. They played a tough, physical brand of hockey that I think ultimately won them the game as the Eagles seemed to be a little worn out towards the end. However, did they impress me that much? Not really. However, I think they are a typical Iowa State squad that will go into the Nationals and probably finish in the top eight. Of course, we wish the Cyclones good luck the rest of the way.

In terms of the play of the Eagles, I really thought that overall they played a pretty solid game. They scored three goals on the power play, and had numerous other chances to score. Defensively they had a few lapses, but one thing that I noticed in particular about this game was that the Eagles did a really good job recovering from the puck handling errors and the telegraphed passes. Overall, I thought there were a lot of positives that could be taken out of this game for the Eagles, as they played dead even with a team that many across the country think are one of the top 6 in the country. So a split, isn't too bad in that regard. The breaks just didn't seem to go the way of the Eagles when they needed to at the end. 

Really, bottom line looking back on this game, I really feel that it was about as even of a hockey game as I have seen in a long while at the Ice Cube, and that gives me a lot of hope for this team, the rest of the way.

Looking Ahead:
The Eagles of Eastern Michigan next week will be participating in the University of Michigan-Dearborn Thanksgiving Tournament, playing three games over the course of three nights. The Eagles will be taking on West Virginia, Oakland and IUP. Be sure to either check out the EMU Hockey official page or the main page of the Swoop Zone website for the latest information on the times and the opponents over the course of the games next week.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all GO GREEN!
-Kevin