For the fourth time this season, the Iowa Heartlanders took on the Cincinnati Cyclones on Nov. 23. However, for the first time, students from the Wahawk journalism program had the chance to shadow the Heartlanders’ media team both on the ice and from the press box.

Achieving such an opportunity took plenty of time. It all started on Oct. 23, at the annual Iowa High School Press Association’s fall conference where journalism students from all across the state of Iowa attend professional journalism sessions and receive awards for the year’s work. Senior Jay Esmael was the student who initially took interest in reaching out to the Heartlanders.

Esmael states, “We met them at IHSPA in one of our sessions on [setting up] a media day with the Heartlanders. At the end, considering they were very open with really helping build other programs in other places too and helping out no matter what, they were really like ‘Oh, if you want to do better or have a better program, David would be the person that you talk to.'”

David Fine is the director of communications for the Heartlanders, who unfortunately wasn’t able to make it to the Heartlanders’ IHSPA session due to a sudden player trade.

“Later on, within a week, I sent an email out to David saying, ‘We are student journalists from Waterloo West and we created a program where we would like to highlight our athletes and players.’ It was just something that we wanted to do, and from telling him that, he was able to help us out,” Esmael added. “We decided to do a phone call, where we talked for about 30 minutes since that was all the time he had. He was a very busy guy, so I tried to make it quick. I brought up having a possibility of participating in the games and having media passes and everything, and that’s when he agreed and we were able to set something up.”

With Esmael’s confirmation, senior Alyssa Muheljic and junior Anders Elliott-Ott were able to shadow media interns in the press box, where they learned to make live game graphics and updates and even learned how the Heartlanders’ tools work. Additionally, senior Brooklynn Berumez was able to shadow the Heartlanders’ team photographer, Jason Rubin, and even took pictures on the ice.

“Going to the game was really such a distinctively unique experience because I don’t know any other schools where a bunch of kids just get together, really lock in and hone in on trying to get a thing done that they really want to learn,” says Elliott-Ott. “I think as journalists, we really wanted to achieve and excel in a specific area that we needed to learn in. I’m really thankful that Jay really locked in and allowed us to get that opportunity to see the Heartlanders and to experience something that most people won’t.”

The students only became even more excited when the game kicked off.

With tensions high from their previous Friday night game, players took the ice with more intensity than ever. Starting the game strong, Cincinnati scored the first three goals of the game. The Heartlanders were visibly disgruntled, yet made a comeback in the second period. “I’ve never seen a more violent hockey game. Ever. They consistently broke their sticks and they were just so driven to win,” Elliott-Ott recalls.

The second period started off rocky, but halfway through, the Heartlander’s Jack O’Brein scored not just one, but two goals. With their newfound confidence, the Heartlanders played their hearts out and ended up scoring four more back to back goals in the third period. With six unanswered goals, the Heartlanders took the win against the Cylcones, tying their score against each other with two wins and two losses against each other.

Elliott-Ott commented, “It was really fun, to keep it simple. I love watching hockey and I think that they really just stayed driven. They knew their goal, they knew what they wanted to do, and they kept with it.”

Cincinnati Cyclones defender Cole Fraser leaps for the puck while Heartlanders forward Jonny Sorenson guides the puck to the goalie.

Die hard Heartlanders fan, Marc Korver, shouts at the players through the glass to encourage them. Korver has been supporting the Heartlanders since their debut on Oct. 22, 2021. In the audience, Korver sports a festive blazer that correlates to each game’s theme and his iconic antler hat, setting him apart from others.

Heartlanders forward Nathan Noel kneels in pain after getting shoved by Cyclones defender Cole Fraser. Noel was laid out on the ice, which called for a time out due to Fraser’s force.

Liam Coughlin puts his leg out to halt Cincinnati’s Nick Rhéaume and steal the puck. Despite the steal, Cincinnati scored against the Heartlanders to lead with a score of 2-0.

A Heartlanders fan leans against the glass to keep a close eye on the game after the Heartlanders score their second goal of the game. After Cincinnati scored 3 points in a row, the Heartlanders pushed harder than ever and kept the puck at Cincinnati’s goal.

Forward Max Patterson rushes across the ice while the Cyclones lead the puck to the opposing goal.

Defender Stevie Leskovar protects the puck while skating head-on to the Cyclone’s goal with Cincinnati’s Gunnarwolfe Fontaine chasing close behind.

Adam Capannelli celebrates after scoring a goal, pushing the Heartlanders to the lead at 4-3.

Forward Max Patterson steals the puck from Cincinnati and turns to the opposing goal to save the Heartlanders’ lead.

Nathan Noel pushes Cincinnati’s Luke Grainger into the glass and buys time for somebody else to take the puck.

Heartlanders fans celebrate after the Heartlanders score their final goal of the game and enter the game’s last powerplay.

Luke Mobley, Heartlanders forward, watches intently as other players crowd the goal. The Heartlanders’ Jonny Sorenson scored their final goal in the last 32 seconds of the game to secure the win with a score of 6-3.

Heartlanders mascot, Dash, waves the team flag with pride after the team’s comeback win. With six unanswered goals, the Heartlanders won their second home game of the season.

This story was originally published on The Wahawk Insider on December 18, 2025.