BROOKINGS A little more than midway through this South Dakota hockey season, theres one thing familiar and one thing not.
As per usual, the Brookings Rangers are at the top of the standings and gunning for a top seed not to mention a potential fifth straight state title. But this year, they have plenty of company.
That was on full display at Larson Ice Center in Brookings over the weekend, as the Rangers played a pair of games against teams decidedly in the hunt falling to Yankton 5-3 on Friday night, but bouncing back to defeat Sioux Falls East 5-2 on Saturday night to stay right in the mix.
Those were both really tight games, two similar teams who work really hard and one night a couple bounces didnt go our way and the next night they did, Rangers coach Garrett Gerstner said.
Those results left five teams Sioux Falls West, Brookings, Yankton, Rushmore and Sioux Falls East within striking distance of the top spot in the league.
Its pretty wide open one-through-four, Gerstner said. Rushmore should be right there, they just havent played as many games yet, and weve got them coming to town for two this weekend, so were really excited about that.
The Rangers are fielding a very young squad, especially by their own lofty standards.
A lot of it is, we just need the reps, Gerstner said. You can see them getting more confident with the puck on their stick, though. Theyre getting to where they need to be.
We told them before the season started, were going to win some games we shouldnt and lose some games we shouldnt, and thats all just growing pains, but we have to use it to get better, he said.
And that was apparent on Friday night at Larson, as the Rangers controlled the action through one period but then stumbled in the third and fell to the visiting Bucks, who they defeated 4-2 in Yankton earlier this season.
Jay Harris opened the scoring midway through the first off feeds from Luke Honkomp and Jackson Heller. Yankton evened the score in the second.
Talon Hyde put the Rangers back in front to open the third period off a feed from Riley Linstad, but the Bucks rattled off three straight goals, including the game-winner on the power play. Mason Diers got Brookings back in striking distance off a feed from Harris, but Yankton found the empty net to get the win.
That was tough, but I was mostly watching to see how they would respond, Gerstner said, Especially with the younger kids, these are some of the biggest games they have ever played, and you cant replicate that pressure anywhere else. They just have to work through it.
Brookings did bounce back strong, handling a game Sioux Falls East team on Saturday night even after falling into a hole twice, as they trailed 1-0 and 2-1.
Harris again got Brookings on the board off a feed from Honkomp to send the teams to the dressing room tied at 1.
East again opened a lead at 2-1 in the second, but Waylon Carroll tied things back up off a pass from Maxten Jensen.
The Rangers then rattled off three goals in the thirdtheir sixth tough period of the weekend to earn a win.
Cooper Deatherage scored unassisted and in alone, Honkomp found the net from the high slot off a Linstad feed, and Deatherage sealed it with the empty netter.
Matthew Bothe got the win in net, making 20 saves as Brookings outshot the Flyers 38-22.
I was proud of that response, that was good to see, Gerstner said. Thats the way this league is going to shake out with the crowd at the top who can show up most consistently and who can bounce back from the tough stuff. On any given night, any of those teams can win, so thats what it will come down to.
Brookings is now 11-2 on the league season, tied with Sioux Falls West for the league title and top overall seed at the state tournament. The Flyers beat Brookings at Larson early this season, 2-1, and do have a game in hand on Brookings, and the teams will meet in Sioux Falls on Feb. 7.
But the Rangers face a stiff test this weekend at home against Rushmore, who is 9-0 in league play and catching up on games played against the rest of the top of the table.
Were not as top heavy as we have been in years past, Gerstner said. But we have had some senior leaders really step up, and the young guys are getting there. Now we have to take the next step.
The Rangers host Rushmore on Friday and Saturday nights at Larson Ice Center. Both games are at 7 p.m
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