The Aberdeen Cougars connected for seven goals in the final two periods on the way to an 8-3 boys’ hockey win over the Watertown Lakers Friday night at the Odde Ice Center.

The contest was tied 1-1 after the opening period before the Cougars took control.

Jacob Grau scored a pair of goals in the second period and Andrew Woehl added another as the hosts took a 4-1 lead. The squad put the game on ice in the third with four more goals, two by Jacob Scheel, and others by Austin Erickson and AJ Dabney.

“We started slow, but got better as the game progressed and really took it over in the third period,” said Cougars coach Jeremey Backous.”

Aberdeen ended up with 20 more shots on goal in the contest.

Carson Myhre scored Aberdeen’s first goal. The unassisted score erased Watertown’s only lead of the evening.

It had been a while since the Cougars’ last competition. Backous felt that led to his team’s sluggish start against the Lakers.

“I think it was just getting back into game mode. We were off last weekend and I feel like that contributed to our slow start,” Backous said. “We were turning pucks over and not really moving our feet. That changed as the game went on and we got our game legs back under us.”

The Cougars play at Sioux Falls today and Sunday.

Watertown Lakers 1 0 2 – 3

Aberdeen Cougars 1 3 4 – 8

First Period: 1, WL, Austin Green (Blair Boomsma), 13:28; 2, AC, Carson Myhre (unassisted), 3:17.

Second Period: 3, AC, Jacob Grau (Austin Erickson), 13:31; 4, AC, Andrew Woehl (Ian Ahlberg and Andrew Coughlin), 11:58; 5, AC, Grau (unassisted), 1:36.

Third Period: 6, WL, Green (Thomas Foley), 9:56; 7, AC, Erickson (Quincy Madsen, Grau), 9:22; 8, AC, Jacob Scheel (Mason Carrels and Kasen Claymore), 6:39; 9, AC, Scheel (Carrels), 6:26; 10, WL, Boomsma (unassisted); 11, AC, AJ Dabney (Woehl), 4:06.

Shots on Goal: Watertown Lakers 15; Aberdeen Cougars 35.

Goalies: Watertown Lakers, Owen McBride (27 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Carson Hunstad (3 saves).