By Jared Bravard, @JaredBravard

The Cyclones lost 1-0 to the University of Mary Marauders on Friday night in game one of both the series and season.

Head Coach Jason Fairman was disappointed with the loss but thought it was a solid effort against a good team.

“That’s a good hockey team, that’s probably one of the best [Division II] hockey teams in the country,” Fairman said.

The first two and a half periods were scoreless, but Fairman would have taken that if he knew it going into the game.

“If you asked me before the game if I would take that situation, I’d say, ‘Absolutely,’” Fairman said.

The lone goal on the night came from Marauder forward Seth Cushing at 10:39 in the third. The University of Mary won a faceoff in the Cyclones’ zone, and the puck went straight to Cushing in the slot. Cushing fired the shot passed Cyclone goalie Matthew Ayres to light the lamp.

The Marauders outshot the Cyclones 38-26. Fairman said he would give the nod to the University of Mary from a territorial standpoint but thought the scoring chances were comparable.

“I would say the grade A scoring chances were very similar,” Fairman said.

Despite the loss, encouragement can be taken from the game, according to Fairman.

“A lot of little details I think will improve our game greatly once we have more game experience, but there’s reason to be excited with this team,” Fairman said. “There’s a lot of talent.”

The only penalty of the night — which the Cyclones successfully killed — came at 7:25 in the third.

The Cyclones (0-1-0) and Marauders (3-0-1) will face off for game two of the series at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Ames/ISU Ice Arena.