While the start was definitely different, the results were nearly identical for the Aberdeen Cougars Sunday evening at the Odde Ice Center.
The squad overcame a slow start to record an 8-3 boys’ hockey win over Sioux Center. It marked the second time in two days that the Cougars produced eight goals, and after putting up 50 shots on goal Saturday night, they fired 51 shots on target Sunday.
However, unlike their first meeting against Sioux Center in which they led the whole way, the Cougars fell behind 3-1 in the rematch.
“It was a bit of a slow start, but we came around,” said Aberdeen coach Jeremey Backous. “We struggled through some penalties early in the game, and it really affected our pace of play. It’s hard to maintain an attack mindset when you’re trying to kill off penalties.”
The Cougars scored a late goal in the first period to gain some traction, and then like Saturday blitzed the Storm the rest of the way, scoring two more goals in the second period and pouring on four goals in the third.
“As the game progressed, I felt like our depth came into play,” Backous said. “I thought our third line of Jack Podoll, Talan Dutenhoeffer, and Drake Witte generated the most offensive zone time and scoring opportunities on the day. They were aggressive on the forecheck and found the back of the net a couple of times.”
That line definitely did some major damage for the Cougars. Podoll scored Aberdeen’s first goal of the day, Dutenhoeffer scored the first goal of the second period to tie the game and also had a pair of assists, and Witte also assisted on a goal.
Lleyton Kleffman finished with two goals on the day. The Cougars also received third period goals from Lance Siefken, Jackson Garstecki, Quincy Madsen, and Aiden Posthumus. Siefken, Madsen and Posthumus each had one assist as well.
“All in all, it was a solid team effort,” Backous said.
The Cougars host Brandon Valley in a pair of games this coming weekend. The first contest is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at the Odde Ice Center.
Sioux Center 3 0 0 – 3
Aberdeen Cougars 2 2 4 – 8
First Period: 1, SC, Graden Van Essen (Hunter Doyle, Landon De Jong), 10:12; 2, AC, Jack Podoll (Talan Dutenhoeffer, Drake Witte), 9:23; 3, SC, DeJong (Van Essen), 5:34; 4, SC, Kaden Svoboda (Van Essen), 3:54; 5, AC, Lleyton Kleffman (Quincy Madsen), 1:04.
Second Period: 6, AC, Dutenhoeffer (Lance Siefken), 12:33; 7, AC, Kleffman (Jaxon Danielson), 1:04.
Third Period: 8, AC, Siefken (Dutenhoeffer), 9:00; 9, AC, Jackson Garstecki (Micah Kranzler, Aiden Posthumus), 7:16; 10, AC, Madsen (Michael Weisenburger, Levi Little), 5:19; 11, AC, Posthumus (unassisted), 3:39.
Shots on Goal: Sioux Center 18; Aberdeen Cougars 51.
Goalies: Sioux Center, Jacob Heikens (43 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Colton Townsend (15 saves).
