BANTAM A
The Bantam Rangers posted a 3-1 mark to win the Dakota Premier Classic Bantam A Tournament over the weekend at Larson Ice Center.
Brookings capped off play with an 8-5 win over Huron in Sunday’s championship game. The A Bantams opened play on Friday afternoon with a 5-1 win over Luverne and then followed with a 3-2 loss to Fargo Black before bouncing back with a 4-2 win over Sioux City to advance to the title.
The Bantams, 2-1 in league play, travel to Pierre on Saturday and face the All-Stars in a rematch on Sunday at Bergman Arena.
Sunday’s Championship
• Brookings 8, Huron 5
The Rangers lit the lamp five times in the first period to build a 5-1 lead before Huron scored three in the second to get within 6-4 through two. Brookings sandwiched a pair of goals around an All-Star score in the third for the three-goal win.
Logan Bortnem scored back-to-back goals, assisted by Jacob Drew and Jackson Law, respectively, to get the Rangers out to a quick lead. Wes Koenig pushed the lead to 3-0 with a short-handed unassisted goal before the All-Stars got on the scoreboard. Ashton Witte converted a power-play chance as Trenton Pederson and Caden Krogman picked up the assists, and then, Bortnem finished off a hat trick with an unassisted power-play goal.
Huron scored twice to open the second period before Witte notched his second goal of the game off a Koenig setup. The All-Stars scored once more to get within two.
Koenig tallied another unassisted goal to open the third-period scoring before the All-Stars countered. Bortnem closed out the scoring with an unassisted power-play goal.
The Rangers held a 39-15 edge in shots as Kade Brecher finished with 10 saves for the win in goal.
Saturday’s Games
• Brookings 4, Sioux City 2
Koenig scored with 59 seconds left in the first period as Bortnem and Isaac Dobesh picked up that assists to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead after one.
Sioux City scored the only goal of the second to send the game into the final period tied at 1-1.
The visitors cashed in on a power-play chance early in the third to take the lead before Brookings responded with three unanswered goals for the win. Jesse Roberts scored with 9:10 left to tie the game with assists going to Drew and Koenig; Brody Powers scored the game-winner with 3:51 on the clock as Bortnem collected the assist; and then, Bortnem added an unassisted insurance goal with 36 seconds to play.
Holden Richardson came up with 22 saves as Sioux City outshot the Rangers, 24-18.
• Fargo Black 3, Brookings 2
Fargo scored midway through the first period to take the early lead, but Koenig’s goal off a Powers’ assist with 2:52 to play sent the game into the first intermission tied at 1-1.
Talon Richter tallied an unassisted goal early in the second to give the Rangers the lead before Fargo sent the game into the final period tied at 2-2 with a goal at the 4:02 mark.
Black scored with 13:11 to play in the third period and the goal stood up as Brookings only got off four shots in the frame.
Brecher finished with 20 saves as both teams took 23 shots.
Friday’s Game
• Brookings 5, Luverne 1
The Rangers scored two goals in each of the first two periods before Luverne found the back of the net early in the third to get on the scoreboard. Brookings tacked on another goal with less than six minutes to play for the final margin.
Koenig started the scoring with an unassisted goal before Pederson scored off an assist from Richter for the 2-0 lead.
Bortnem scored twice in the second – the first unassisted and the second set up by Dobesh – as Brookings built its lead to 4-0.
After Luverne scored, Witte provided for the final margin off a Koenig assist.
Richardson earned the win in goal with 15 saves as the Rangers held a 26-16 edge in shots.
Junior Varsity Boys
The JV Rangers posted two SDAHA wins over the weekend – 6-3 over Yankton and 8-0 over Boji – to improve to 7-1 in league play and move into a tie for first in the standing with Sioux Falls 1.
Brookings plays host to Mitchell at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Larson Ice Center.
• Brookings 6, Yankton 3
The Rangers score two goals in the first 3 1/2 minutes as Carter Merritt found the back of the net off an assist from Kane Kurtenbach and then Kobe Ischen tallied an unassisted goal before Yankton came back with one to make it 2-1 after a period.
Nick Jonas and Riley Jacobsen scored unassisted goals late in the second for a 4-1 Brookings lead through two.
Yankton cashed in on two power-play chances late in the third to get within 4-3, but Dalton Rittershaus notched an unassisted goal before Jacobsen added insurance with a power-play goal on an empty net.
Philip Kuechenmeister earned the win in net with 26 saves as the Bucks held a 29-20 edge in shots.
• Brookings 8, Boji 0
The Rangers dominated play by outshooting Boji, 26-10, as Kaden Gutormson picked up the shutout win between the pipes with 10 saves.
Brookings tallied three first-period goals; added four in the second; and then, tacked on one in the third.
Jack McCarty started the onslaught less than a minute into play off an assist from Ischen before Jordan Svobodny lit the lamp with the assists going to Luc Bouchard and Charlie Marshall. Rittershaus’ unassisted tally closed the period.
In the second, Kurtenbach opened with an unassisted goal, and then, Rittershaus added two more – the first set up by Ischen on a power play and the second assisted by Trevor Pederson. McCarty made it 7-0 with less than a minute to play as Ischen earned another helper.
Kurtenbach provided for the final margin with 10:47 left in the game as Jacobsen picked up the assist.
PEEWEES
The PeeWee A Rangers swept Huron in a pair of SDAHA games on Sunday at Bergman Arena, shutting out the All-Stars, 13-0, in the first game and then coming back with an 11-3 decision in Game 2 to improve to 6-1 in league play. Brookings plays host to Sioux Falls 2 on Dec. 29.
• Brookings 13, Huron 0
The PeeWee A Rangers scored three goals in the first; added seven in the second; and then, notched two more in the third as they outshot the home team, 31-4, with Addison Ronning earning the shutout win in goal.
Jacob Peterson opened the scoring off an assist from Breck Hirrschoff before Hirrschoff found the back of the net with the assists going to Jacob Kahle and Zach Struck. Kahle’s unassisted goal with 44 seconds left in the period made it 3-0 after one.
Hirrschoff scored a hat trick to start the second-period scoring as Struck had a hand in all three and Peterson assisted on the first. Kahle and Owen Schneider took turns lighting the lamp as both scored two goals as Struck and Hirrshoff set up the first Kahle goal and Hirrschoff and Miles Merhib assisted on the second. Schneider’s first goal was unassisted and the second was set up by Peterson and Kahle.
In the third, Eli Johnson found the back of the net with the assists going to Peterson and Chase Karch before Merhib tallied an unassisted goal for the final margin.
• Brookings 11, Huron 3
Schneider notched a hat trick to open the first-period scoring – the first two unassisted and the third set up by Luke Honkomp. Hirrschoff added an unassisted goal before Peterson and Struck each found the back of the net – Jack Merritt set up Peterson and Hirrschoff assisted Struck – as the Rangers led 6-0 after one.
In the second, Schneider scored again as David Brink earned the assist, and then, Peterson tallied an unassisted goal as Brookings led 8-3 through two.
Hirrschoff opened the third-period scoring with an unassisted goal before Merritt lit the lamp off an assist from Peterson. Schneider’s fifth goal of the game – this one unassisted – accounted for the final score as the Rangers held a 30-7 edge in shots with Ronning coming up four saves for the win in net.
14U GIRLS
The 14U Rangers shut out Huron, 5-0, in SDAHA play on Saturday to even their league record at 2-2. Brookings plays host to undefeated Watertown on Sunday at 11:45 a.m.
• Brookings 5, Huron 0
Jadyn Kuehl opened the first-period scoring with an unassisted goal before Addie Ramlo lit the lamp off a Maggie Dunbar assist less than two minutes later as the Rangers led 2-0 after one.
In the second, Savannah Barber found the back of the net with assists going to Payton Triplett and Kiran Vugteveen. Vugteveen then scored as Ella Park and Dunbar earned the helpers to make it 4-0 through two.
Barber notched an unassisted goal late in the third to provide for the final margin as Heidi Merriman finished with 14 saves for the shutout win.
SQUIRTS RED
The Squirts Red Rangers went 2-2 over the weekend at the Mitchell Tournament with wins over over Sioux Falls Orange and Oahe Black. Red lost 8-0 to Sioux City and 11-0 to Windom.
• Brookings 3, S.F. Orange 2
The Rangers led 1-0 after a period as Taryn Richter lit the lamp with 4:50 left in the period.
Brody Williams found the back of the net with 4:06 on the clock in the third period to push the Rangers’ lead to 2-0, but Orange scored at the 2:43 mark to cut the lead in half.
Isaak Earley buried the puck with 9 seconds to play off an assist from Richter to make it 3-1 before Sioux Falls scored with a second to play for the 3-2 final.
Wyatt Pitsenberger came up with 16 saves as the Rangers were outshot, 18-8.
• Brookings 11, Oahe 1
The score was tied at 1-1 after a period as Andrew Hahn scored for the Rangers with the assist going to Earley.
Brookings scored seven goals in the second to take control.
Richter scored back-to-back goals with assists going to Matthew Bothe and Hahn, respectively, before Shauna Pederson scored two in a row as Williams set up the second. Richter sandwiched a pair of goals around an Earley unassited tally to finish off the second-period scoring as Hahn set up both Richter goals.
In the third, Bothe notched back-to-back goals – the first unassisted and the second set up by Pederson – before Hahn provided for the final with another unassisted tally.
Pitsenberger made four saves as the Rangers outshot Oahe, 21-5.
