FT. PIERRE – Ashton Witte garnered a hat trick as the sixth-seeded Rangers dominated play in a 7-4 opening-round win over No. 3 Oahe at the South Dakota Boys’ Varsity State Hockey Tournament on Friday afternoon at the Oahe Expo Center.
Due to the weather, all of the games were postponed, with Brookings facing off with the Capitals in the opening game at 6:30 last night, instead of 9:35 a.m. Friday morning.
When the puck finally dropped, it didn’t take long for the Rangers to take advantage of Spencer Wedin’s boarding penalty in the first minute of play as Witte netted an unassisted power-play goal a minute and two seconds in for the early lead.
Sixty-five seconds later, Witte tallied another unassisted goal to make it 2-0, Brookings, which is where the first framed ended.
Wedin scored Oahe’s first goal 14 seconds into the second period off a Talon Griese setup to cut the lead in half before Carter Shoup answered for the Rangers with 16:09 on the clock as Max Kjelden and Charlie Marshall picked up the assists.
The Capitals scored two straight goals to tie the game at 3-3 when Griese lit the lamp off setups from Wedin and Caden Davis, and then, Davis found the back of the net with an unassisted tally with 10:25 left.
But the Rangers retook the lead as Sean Sullivan netted an unassisted goal at the 9:32 mark before Marshall scored an unassisted power-play goal with 5:14 on the clock to give Brookings a 5-3 heading into the final frame.
Witte’s hat trick goal midway through the third off Shoup and Kjelden assists pushed Brookings’ lead to 6-3, and then, Kjelden tallied an unassisted goal with 4:35 remaining for a 7-3 advantage.
Elliot Leif’s goal for Oahe 13 seconds later provided for the final margin as Raef Briggs earned the helper.
The Rangers held a 33-17 advantage in shots and converted 3-of-4 power-play opportunities as Oahe served 30 minutes on seven penalties, compared to just a single two-minute infraction on Brookings.
Carter Schulz stopped 13 of the 17 shots that he faced for the win in goal as the Rangers advance to Saturday’s 3:15 p.m. semifinal against Rushmore.
BROOKINGS 7, OAHE 4
Brookings 2 3 2 – 7
Oahe. 0 3 1 – 4
First Period
Scoring: 1. Brookings – Ashton Witte (Unassisted), pp, 14:58. 2. Brookings – Ashton Witte (Unassisted), 13:43. Penalties: O, Spencer Wedin (Boarding), 16:41; O, Spencer Wedin (Boarding – Misconduct), 16:41.
Second Period
Scoring: 1. Oahe – Spencer Wedin (Talon Griese), 16:46. 3. Brookings – Carter Shoup (Max Kjelden, Charlie Marshall), 16:09. 2. Oahe – Talon Griese (Spencer Wedin, Caden Davis), 12:22. 3. Oahe – Caden Davis (Unassisted), 10:25. 4. Brookings – Sean Sullivan (Unassisted), 9:32. 5. Brookings – Charlie Marshall (Unassisted), pp, 5:14. Penalties: O, Jackson Lake (Elbowing), 14:41; O, Elliot Leif (Interference), 6:57.
Third Period
Scoring: 6. Brookings – Ashton Witte (Carter Shoup, Maxwell Kjelden), 8:25. 7. Brookings – Max Kjelden (Unassisted), pp, 4:35. 4. Oahe – Elliot Leif (Raef Briggs), 4:22. Penalties: B, Ike Johnson (Holding), 10:59; O, Spencer Wedin (Roughing), 5:46; O, Spencer Wedin (Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Misconduct), 5:46; O, Kian Paul (Slashing), 0:00.
Power Plays: B 3-4; O 0-1. Shots: B 8-13-12 – 33; O 4-10-3 – 17. Saves: B, Carter Schulz 13-of-17; O, Tate Mueller 26-of-33.
• Rushmore 4, Watertown 2
The seventh-seeded Lakers gave No. 2 Rushmore all it wanted in the late first-round game on Friday night.
The Thunders got on the scoreboard first on Ryan Nolan’s goal off an assist from Blake DeVries with 5:02 left in the first period. Watertown tied the game a minute and a half later on Alex Nygaard’s tally as Coby Steiner helped for a 1-1 draw after a period.
Nolan sandwiched a pair of goals in the second period around Kaiden Rawlins’ score to give Rushmore a 3-2 lead through two. Nolan’s first tally was unassisted and the hat trick goal was set up by Seth Stock and Duncan Chisolm.
Mason Martin added an insurance goal with 14:30 to play in the third period for the 4-2 final score.
The Thunder held a 26-20 edge in shots and came up empty on four power-play chances as Watertown went 0-for-1.
John Young earned the win in goal with 18 saves while Jared Fedt stopped 22 Rushmore shots.
The Lakers take on Oahe in a consolation semifinal at 1 p.m.
