A total of five goals from five different players hoisted the Aberdeen Cougars back to .500 on the season.

The Aberdeen Cougars defeated the Oahe Capitals 5-2 in boys’ hockey action Sunday afternoon at the Odde Ice Center to close out the weekend in a game that saw contributions by everyone on the ice.

“That’s part of our success of our team is that we’re a team. We don’t have to rely on any one individual to generate offense for us. We have a lot of kids that are more than capable of putting pucks in the net,” said Cougars coach Jeremey Backous. “I think that’s when we’re at our best is when we’re sharing pucks and everybody’s contributing.”

The first goal, however, was from the visiting Capitals who scored in the first 23 seconds.

“We need to start games the right way and I don’t know whether we were just not engaged on that first shift or if it was a lucky break,” Backous said. “But I think it was a wake-up call. Again, it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We have to be prepared to go from the puck drop.”

The Capitals had two shots on goal to start the contest, and then did not get another one the rest of the first period as the Cougars racked up four goals.

“Once we got into our game, I thought we controlled the pace of play pretty well in that first period,” Backous said. “We generated a lot of scoring opportunities and had a lot of zone time.”

Their first scoring opportunity came at 15:01, just five seconds into a power play on a goal from Aiden Posthumus, assisted by Trayke Roehrich and Devon Fischbach. The second Cougars goal came at the 11:55 mark, this time scored by Fischbach and assisted by Roehrich.

“I just camp out in front of the net and obviously one of our D men came down the wall and put a great pass on my stick, and I just put it towards the net, and it just went in,” said Fischbach. “That’s just sometimes what you gotta do is just shoot the puck and good things happen.”

The Cougars’ third goal came with 6:05 remaining in the first period on a shot from Drake Witte, assisted by Jack Podoll. The final goal of the period was at the hands of Jaxon Danielson assisted by Podoll once again, and Witte.

After a scoreless senior period, the Capitals got back within striking distance as they scored with 11:18 remaining in the game.

The Cougars regained their three-goal lead after another goal from Roehrich on a power play, capping off a two-assist night with a goal of his own with 3:28 remaining in the game.

“He just got me,” Roehrich said of an assist from Fishchbach on the goal. “I was in open ice and took a shot, and it went in.”

It was the second assist of the game for Fischbach, feeding Roehrich who assisted him earlier in the game.

“I just look for whoever’s open, and that’s the key to scoring goals,” Fischbach said. “You know, it’s finding good opportunities and that’s what we did tonight.”

The Cougar’s first two goals and last goal came off of power plays, converting three total goals out of their five power plays.

“Special teams need to be special and anytime you can capitalize on a power play, it’s huge,” Backous said. “It was nice to be able to get three of those today.”

The Cougars, 6-6 in league play, closed out the weekend securing three total points after an overtime loss to Brookings on Saturday, and the win over Oahe.

“It’s nice to get three out of four points on the weekend. That point against Brookings was huge for us, and obviously, the win for us today was key,” Backous said. “We need to have a good week of practice and we’ll be ready for Watertown on Saturday.”

The Cougars will be back at the Odde Ice Center hosting Watertown at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Cougars pulled out an overtime win over the Lakers at the beginning of December.

Oahe Capitals 1 0 1 – 2

Aberdeen Cougars 4 0 1 – 5

First Period: 1, OC, Keegan Kitts (Dylan Dodson), 16:37; 2, AC, Aiden Posthumus (Trayke Roehrich, Devon Fischbach), 15:01; 3, AC, Fischbach (Roehrich), 11:55; 4, AC, Drake Witte (Jack Podoll), 6:05; 5, AC, Jaxon Danielson (Podoll, Witte), 0:51

Second Period: No Scoring

Third Period: 6, OC, Kitts (Dodson), 11:18; 7, AC, Roehrich (Fischbach, Cameron Backous), 3:28

Shots on Goal: Oahe Capitals 13; Aberdeen Cougars 27.

Goalies: Oahe Capitals, Jaxon Jungwirth (22 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Colton Townsend (11 saves).