Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the Aberdeen Cougars boys’ varsity hockey season last year came after the season was over.

After dropping a heartbreaker in overtime in the quarterfinal round of the state tournament, a group of Cougars stuck around to watch the semifinal games.

“The atmosphere in those semifinal games is electric compared to the quarterfinals,” said Cougars head coach Jeremey Backous. “A lot of them talked at that time about how they want to be in that game next year. A raucous crowd, stands are full. It’s just a different level of intensity.”

Last year’s next year is this year’s now, and that spark of hunger – the one stoked in the bleachers – has yet to be quelled.

The Cougars have taken the ice with a sense of purpose during the early season practices.

“I think we have an opportunity to be really good,” Backous said. “We have an exceptionally large group of seniors. … Some of those seniors played significant roles for us on last year’s team, and they’ve been showing really well to this point in practice. I think we have the opportunity to be as good as the Aberdeen Cougars boys varsity has been in a long time.”

That experience has yielded early returns even during the first few weeks of practices.

“We were doing some offensive zone stuff (Wednesday) morning at practice, and one of my seniors made the comment that this already looks better this year at this point than last year when we started working on some of these concepts,” Backous said. “Just the fact that they’re familiar with things and recognizing situations is definitely going to help us going forward.”

The Cougars will be led by assistant captains Drake Witte and Aiden Posthumus and captain Devon Fischbach.

“(Fischbach) was also a captain for the Warner football team and has obviously demonstrated leadership qualities,” Backous said. “He’s a consistently hard worker for us. Exactly what we’re looking for from our leaders.”

The Cougars have a host of other returning players, including a group of 15 seniors, all of whom contribute in some way to the renewed culture of the locker room.

“A lot of them that weren’t mentioned as captains are leaders on the team,” Backous noted, “they just don’t have the letter on their sweater.”

Despite that returning experience and demonstrated leadership at the top, Backous said there’s still some fine-tuning to be had when the puck hits the ice.

“I feel like we have really good overall team speed, and we need to use that to our advantage,” he said. “Offensively, we need to do a better job this year of maintaining possession and making the right play. Not being so quick to move the puck but waiting for the play to develop and having some patience with the puck.”

Backous pointed out Rushmore (Rapid City), Brookings and Sioux Falls as three of the top contenders in the state, but added that no team can be overlooked when game day arrives.

“That was a hard lesson we learned last year when we traveled to Huron and lost,” he said. “They were 2-11 or 2-12 at that time.”

Aberdeen begins its season this weekend, hosting Brandon Valley on Saturday and Huron on Sunday, and Backous said the team has a high level of desire heading into those opening games.

“Obviously we want it as coaches and we work and teach them things, but at the end of the day, they’re the ones that have to want it,” he said. “We can’t want it for them. That’s reflected in their level of effort and their dedication to their sport and their craft. I think we have a really good group of kids that are not afraid to work. I know a lot of them put in quite a bit of work over the summer. It’s going to be a matter of staying the course and staying together.”