No. 1 Brookings and No. 2 Rushmore advance to state hockey tourney final
BROOKINGS — The top-seeded Brookings Rangers and second-seeded Rushmore Thunder recorded semifinal wins Saturday in the South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association varsity boys state tournament.
The Rangers downed the fifth-seeded Oahe Capitals 2-1 in overtime and the Thunder blanked the third-seeded Sioux Falls West Flyers 5-0.
In consolation games, the seventh-seeded Mitchell Marlins slipped past the sixth-seeded Aberdeen Cougars 5-3 and the fourth-seeded Sioux Falls East Flyers edged the eighth-seeded Watertown Lakers 5-4.
The tourney is slated to conclude on Sunday with Mitchell meeting Sioux Falls East for the consolation championship at 9 a.m., followed by Sioux Falls West vs. Oahe for third place at noon and the championship between Brookings and Rushmore at 3 p.m.
Owen Schneider's power-play goal just over eight minutes into the overtime period gave Brookings the win. Riley Linstad also scored for the Rangers, who got assists from Luke Honkomp and Jacob Kahle. Addison Ronning recorded 16 saves.
Keller Herman gave Oahe a 1-0 lead in the second period with a goal. Spencer Anderson made 32 saves.
Rushmore advanced with two goals from Wyatt Reeder and one goal and two assists apiece from Cameron Ritter, Alexander Dietrich and Colton Merchen. Easton Knoll and Layne Jensen each added assists and goalie Wyatt Simmons tallied 21 saves. Cole Langston made 30 saves for West.
Pacxton Denne's hat trick sparked Mitchell, which also got one goal and two assists each from Parker Denne and Levi Loken. Tyson Sabers added an assist and goalie Ian Vaughan 29 saves.
Quincy Madsen finished with a goal and two assists for Aberdeen. Micah Kranzler and Aiden Posthumus also found the net. Lance Siefken, Devon Fischbach and Levi Little also recorded assists. Colton Townsend notched 22 saves.
Sioux Falls East scored twice in the third period to rally past Watertown. Nick Gray scored three goals including the game-winner with just under six minutes remaining. Sam Sahly and Hayden Hansen also scored. Tryg Smoot, Max Mohr and Vinny Thill were credited with assists.
Mylan Evans and Tommy Foley each had a goal and an assist for Watertown, which finished its season with a 12-16 record. Kowynn Muhl and Jake Bramer added goals and Austin McBride an assist. Goalie Kohl Nygaard tallied 23 assists.
Friday Results
Brookings 11, Watertown 0
The Rangers kicked off their quest for a fourth-straight championship with the win over Watertown.
Brookings grabbed control with a five-goal first period. Talon Hyde and Jack Merritt each scored two goals for the Rangers, who also got goals from Honkomp, Jay Harris, Ren Jacobsen, Linstad, Cooper Deatherage, David Brink and Schneider.
Harris, Linstad, Deatherage, Schneider and Jacob Kahle had two assists each and Honkomp, Hyde, Jacobsen, Jackson Heller and Chase Karch one each.
Brookings held a 32-9 advantage in shots. Nygaard finished with 21 saves for Watertown and Addison Ronning eight for the Rangers.
More: SDAHA tournament opens Friday in Brookings with four first-round games
Sioux Falls West 3, Aberdeen 2 (OT)
Nathan Renken's goal with 3:17 remaining in overtime lifted the third-seeded Flyers to the victory. Carson Sarahan assisted on the goal.
Alex Carlson and Sarahan each added goals for SFW. Jack Campbell, Keegan Clancy, Ashton Eining and Carson Edwards added assists. Langston made 17 saves in goal.
The Cougars received goals from Brady Huff and Micah Kranzler. Lleyton Kleffman added an assist and Townsend 35 saves.
Rushmore 7, Mitchell 2
The Thunder took control with four goals in the first period.
Reeder and Dietrich each scored two goals and Damien Pongkub, Ritter and Carter Kirk one each for Rushmore. Reeder made four assists, William Simmons two and Ritter, Andrew Welling, Wyatt Balliew, Mason Mcgregor and Colton Merchen one.
Levi Loken and Coy Olson each found the back on the net for Mitchell. Parker Denne had an assists.
Mitchell's Ian Vaughn tallied 39 saves. Brody Lee made 14 for Rushmore.
More: Dolphins finish second in the State A Short Course Championships for the eighth-straight year
Oahe 4, Sioux Falls East 2
Aidan Dozark's hat trick lifted Oahe to the victory.
Devin Dodson also scored for the Capitals and Luke Miller, Jayce Anderson, Barret Schweitzer and Ayden Behm recorded assists. Anderson made 29 saves.
Ben Vermeer and Mohr each found the net for the Flyers. Salonen notched 24 saves.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: The SDAHA state varsity boys hockey tournament taking place in Brookings
