The Sioux Falls Flyers lived up to their team name on Sunday afternoon, flying all over the ice against the Aberdeen Cougars.

Sioux Falls racked up a whopping 55 shots on goal and rolled to an 8-1 girls’ hockey win at the Odde Ice Center.

“They constantly move their feet, they move the puck around, and that’s stuff that we need to work on,” said Aberdeen coach Amy Munsterman-Wills. “We need to be moving around a little bit better, not being so timid with things, too, not adding pressure.”

It was evident from the early going that the contest would be played on the terms of the Flyers. They won nearly every 50-50 puck, played nearly the entire game in the Aberdeen zone and were never in trouble on the way to the victory.

“They’re a fast team and they work the puck around really well, and sometimes we get kind of lost in the D-zone,” said Aberdeen senior Addyson Keller, “but throughout the game we started getting better and better, and started picking those girls up, which is all we can ask for in those games.”

The Flyers were so efficient on offense, it reminded Keller of the state championship squad she played on in 2024.

“They would cycle the top. Like their ‘D’ would flash low, and their wings would cycle top,” Keller said. “Even our state championship team, we didn’t even do that that often. That’s the type of thing, you have to deal with what you’re given. Sometimes all you can do is give your best out there.”

The game eventually went to a running clock in the second period before Aberdeen got on the board with a goal from Leah Kranzler with 3:31 left in the period.

“It was a ‘bardownski.’ I saw my fellow wing in the corner battling, and I saw the puck and no one was around me, and I had to get it off my stick quick, because I knew they were going to come and get me,” Kranzler said. “So I shot and just hoped for the best, and the shot went bardownski (hit the top bar and went straight down). The goalie never saw it coming.”

That goal provided a spark for the Cougars who played better in the third period to finish off the contest.

“I feel like it was the same thing with Brookings (on Friday),” Munsterman-Wills said. “Coming out (after) 34 minutes, a little too late. We picked it up a little bit better in third period, but it’s also Sioux Falls.”

The margin would have likely been much worse if not for the goaltending of Chloe Vikander, who stopped an incredible 47 shots on the day.

“Geez, she took a lot today, but she handled it well,” Munsterman-Wills said. “It was a tough team today, tough on our defense, too.”

Vikander was under siege from the opening drop of the puck, but still managed to stop nearly four dozen shots.

“I know it was definitely hard on her, especially facing that many shots,” Keller said, “but at end of the day, those games help us get better in our D-zone so the next time we play them our D-zone will hopefully be better enough to move out of our D-zone into our offensive zone and try to get some shots.”

Kranzler, a sophomore, said there were benefits to be taken from the lopsided loss.

“It was frustrating, but it’s also a really good learning experience, probably one of the toughest teams we will play throughout the year,” Kranzler said. “I think it’s really good for our younger girls. We have a really young team, so I think it’s good for our younger girls to experience this really fast pace and just kind of get used to this.”

Munsterman-Wills knew it was going to be a tough weekend for the Cougars, who defeated Mitchell in between setbacks to Brookings and Sioux Falls.

“This entire weekend, Brookings and Sioux Falls, is kind of a good wake-up call,” she said, “even to really show us where we’re at and what we’re up against.”

The Cougars have a pair of non-league matches on Friday and Saturday in Fargo, N.D.

Sioux Falls Flyers 3 4 1 – 8

Aberdeen Cougars 0 1 0 – 1

First Period: 1, SF, Emma Honner (Lucy Nelson, Halle Watson), 12:56; 2, SF, Ragyn Peska (Aniston Murray, Raegan Pfeifer), 9:58; 3, SF, Brianna Marvici (Scarlett Black), :45.

Second Period: 4, SF, Lily Gorra (Murray, Peska), 12:13; 5, SF, Watson (Honner), 6:43; 6, SF, Peska (unassisted), 4:40; 7, SF, Gorra (unassisted), 4:17; 8, AC, Leah Kranzler (Kaylee Dixon, Addyson Keller), 3:31.

Third Period: 9, SF, Nelson (Watson, Honner), 10:58.

Shots on Goal: Sioux Falls Flyers 55; Aberdeen Cougars 11.

Goalies: Sioux Falls Flyers, Moriah Lincoln (6 saves), Marissa Ready (4 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Chloe Vikander (47 saves).