For the second straight day, Brookings came through in the closing minutes to grab girls’ hockey wins over the Aberdeen Cougars.

After scoring the game-winner late in regulation on Friday, the Rangers produced the game-winner late in overtime in a 3-2 win on Saturday afternoon at the Odde Ice Center.

The Cougars played with a new goalie after starter Chloe Vikander was injured in Friday’s contest. Addyson Keller stepped into the net to fill the void.

“She volunteered to do it. She’s a softball player, soccer player. … She’s a good athlete and wanted to do it. She knew the team would get behind her,” said Cougars coach David Sandvig. “We worked her out a little bit this morning over in the Expo and gave her a couple shots. Chloe gave her a couple tips on what to do, but she’s got a great attitude and she’s an athlete. … She did great.”

It was a solid performance for the first timer who reeled in 24 saves. The Cougars understood the task that came with a new goalie and stepped up defensively.

“They want to play hard in front of their fill-in tender and they got good attitudes about it. So, it’s good when they don’t get down and they take it as an opportunity to try to rise up, play harder, and not let her get in trouble,” said Sandvig. “They’ve been hustling back hard, back checking’s been good. That second person coming in from offense helps.”

Senior Alyssa Roehrich knew the team had to step up to help Keller in the net.

“I think we covered most of the time pretty well. Just try to not get great shots off on her. Protect her a little bit more,” said Roehrich. “That just helped us to get the puck out and get shots on their goalie.”

After a Rangers goal in the first minute of the game, it was scoreless until Roehrich found the back of the net unassisted at the 4:18 mark in the second period.

“It’s just good to get the momentum going. Goals equal momentum, so it’s just good to get that pace up,” said Roehrich. “And then everybody else wants to score, too.”

The Cougars weren’t able to hold on to the momentum very long as the Rangers scored just 12 seconds after to regain their lead. The shots were even at 18 apiece heading in the third period.

Kaylee Dixon tied the score with a short-handed goal with 9:29 remaining in regulation.

“So, before the puck dropped, my center Rachel (Siefken), she was talking to me. She told me to attack the points right away, so I followed her directions and luckily, I got control of the puck right away,” said Dixon. “As I was going down the ice, I was just trying to make a plan in my head of what to do. And it just worked out in the end.”

The Cougars have been opportunistic with shorthanded goals this year, and Sandvig thinks it’s due to the increased stress on the ice being down one player.

“Something a little different changes and I don’t think you can sustain weird energy for all times, otherwise it wouldn’t be weird energy,” Sandvig said. “It’s good that they have that when they need it and can channel it. We’ve got a couple shorties, so it’s good.”

The Cougars ended up outshooting Brookings 28-23 in regulation.

The Rangers were able to find the back of the net with 1:53 remaining in overtime, giving the Cougars back-to-back losses, something they aren’t accustomed to. The squad still played strong in the face of adversity.

“We faced a lot of adversity this weekend with our goalie getting hurt and a new goalie coming in, so I think we just kind of have to brush it off our shoulders. It’s just a game,” said Roehrich.

Dixon said the Cougars are improving, despite the weekend losses.

“Well, we’ve had a couple injuries so far, so we had to put in a new goalie,” Dixon said. “I think we’re just growing and we’re honestly improving as a team. So, I think we’re going in the right direction,”

When injuries come, it provides an opportunity for other players to step up, and the younger girls in the Cougars program have answered the call.

“You gotta live up to the reputation, being the Lady Cougars. I think three of our U14 players played regularly with us today because of injuries and illness and absence. They got done playing a U14 game and they took regular shifts in offense and defense, too,” Sandvig said. “You got young girls out there playing with our old girls and it’s all good. I mean, it’s regular season games, you want to win them, but you gotta work some things out to figure some things out.”

The Cougars are on the road today facing Mitchell in a noon puck drop.

Brookings Rangers 1 1 0 1 – 3

Aberdeen Cougars 0 2 1 0 – 2

First Period: 1, BR, Julissa Peterson (Ava Kahle), 16:07

Second Period: 2, AC, Alyssa Roehrich (unassisted), 4:18; 3, BR, Kinzey Grendler (unassisted), 4:06

Third Period: 4, AC, Rylee Dixon (unassisted), 9:29

Overtime: 5, BR, Miyah Forester (unassisted), 1:53

Shots on Goal: Brookings Rangers 27; Aberdeen Cougars 37

Goalies: Brookings Rangers, Rorii Quam (35 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Addyson Keller (24 saves).