After several close calls, Iowa State finally won the whole ball of wax.

Led by a backup goaltender and a freshman from Harbin, China, the No. 3 Cyclones (21-10-2) beat No. 1 Michigan-Dearborn (32-4), 5-3 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association Championship Game.

Iowa State had finished second in the tournament three times, including a loss to Penn State in the 1990 final.

"It feels great," Cyclone captain Brian Williams said. "I've been in their shoes (Michigan-Dearborn) twice. It's a hell of a lot better being on this side."

The game itself was in doubt right down to the final minute.

The teams traded goals for the first two periods of the championship game to make it 2-2. Forward Anfu Wang scored both goals for Iowa State. In this span, first-team All-Tournament goalie Peter Jervis of ISU and second-team goalie Joe Aho of UMD proved they were worthy of their selections.

In the third period, Cyclone forward Joe Schaffer scored at 4:02 to give his team a 3-2 advantage. At 11:24 freshman Wang completed his hat trick to give Iowa State a two goal cushion. The Wolves responded with a goal by senior Dave Szymanski at 14:56, but an empty net goal by the Cyclones with 25 seconds left clinched the championship for them.

Wang was named the Most Valuable Player for the tournament. He tallied seven goals and five assists in four games. Wang is in his first year of school at Iowa State after being born and raised in China.

"He's an outstanding player," said Cyclone Coach Al Murdoch. "Since he's been with us this year, he's learned the North American style of hockey. Chinese hockey is not outstanding, but he's obviously one of the best out of the whole country of China."

The Cyclones started off the tournament fit to be tied. They opened against Eastern Michigan and built a 6-4 third period lead. But the Eagles scored two goals in the last four minutes to deadlock the contest at 6-6. They then played Arizona in the second game and took a 7-3 lead heading into the third period. The Icecats, who played to stalemates in all three of their contests, came back with four goals to equal Iowa State 7-7.

After two ties, the Cyclones needed an outright victory against defending champion North Dakota State to reach the finals. The team decided to start goalie Peter Jervis for the first time in the championship. The move payed off as Jervis and Iowa State shut down the the Bisons 7-2. No third period comebacks this time around. Not even by a North Dakota State team that had won six out of the last seven ACHA National Championships.

The championship game put two teams who had faced each other many times before in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League. Iowa State and Michigan-Dearborn tied for first in the league this season. The Cyclones may not have been better than the Wolves during the season -- but they were better when it counted the most.

"We got stronger as the tournament went on," said Murdoch. "Four games in four days is tough but we played four lines. We had a little better depth than some of the other teams."