Ranger boys come in 4th at State Tournament

Andrew Holtan | The Brookings Register

SIOUX FALLS – The Brookings Rangers boys varsity team finished its season with a fourth-place finish at the State Tournament over the weekend.

The Rangers beat Sioux Falls West in overtime on Thursday but then lost to Rushmore in the semifinals on Friday. In the third-place game, the Rangers fell to Aberdeen.

Thursday

Quarterfinals

Brookings 3, Sioux Falls West 2 (F/OT)

Jason Ready’s overtime goal lifted the Rangers over the Flyers on Thursday night. He was assisted by Caleb Johnson.

Jackson Dunn gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 7:52 left in the first period and he was assisted by Spencer Charron and Carson Edwards. Jack Lovseth tied the game with 3:05 to go in the opening period and he was assisted by Carson Kludt and Johnson.

Dunn gave the Flyers back the lead with a goal with 7:08 to go in the second and he was assisted by Jackson Goehring and Jackson Henry. Jay Harris kept the game alive for the Rangers with a goal with 1:07 to go in the third. He was assisted by Nolan Krogman and Talon Hyde. That set up the overtime where the Rangers came out on top.

Sioux Falls West had 26 shots and Brookings had 22. Neil Trygstad was in net and made 20 saves.

Friday

Semifinals

Rushmore 5, Brookings 3

Rushmore led 3-1 after two periods and held off the Rangers in the third.

Neither team scored in the first period. The Thunder then scored three-straight goals in the second. Wyatt Reeder opened the scoring 40 seconds into the period and he was assisted by Colton Merchen and Andrew Welling. Caeyn Howard made it 1-0 with 9:43 to go in the second and he was assisted by Remmington Mann.

Merchen scored 45 seconds later to make it 3-0 and he was assisted by Reeder. Parker Nielsen got the Rangers on the board with 6:13 to go in the second and it was unassisted.

Reeder pushed the lead to 4-1 with 11:04 left in the game and it was Reeder again. This time he was assisted by Brixton Steen and Merchen. Jackson Heller cut the lead to 4-2 with 6:35 to play and he was assisted by Nielsen and Mauer Bartley. Harris then scored a little under three minutes later to make it a one-goal game and he was assisted by Heller and Krogman. However, Cayden Brozik put the game away with an empty net goal with 15 seconds left.

The Thunder had 31 shots and the Rangers had 13. Trygstad was between the pipes again for the Rangers and he made 26 saves.

Saturday

Third-Place Game

Aberdeen 4, Brookings 2

The Rangers led 2-0 through two periods but then were outscored 4-0 in the last 17 minutes.

Harris scored the first goal of the game nearly four minutes in. He was assisted by Heller and Hyde. Bartley then made it 2-0 with a power play goal with 45 seconds left in the second. He was assisted by Kludt and Johnson.

Trayke Roherich cut the lead to 2-1 with 13:02 left in the game and he was assisted by Carter Vilhauer. Vilhauer tied the game two and a half minutes later and he was assisted by Roehrich. Carter Vilhauer then gave the Cougars the lead with 3:22 left in the game and it was an unassisted goal. Roehrich then scored an empty netter with 1:43 to play and that sealed the third-place victory for Aberdeen.

The Rangers were outshot 28-16. Ryder Anderson was in net this time for Brookings and he made 12 saves.