SIOUX FALLS – The Aberdeen Cougars made sure they were not going to play from behind in their final game of the season Sunday morning.

After a slow start against Watertown on Saturday, the Cougars blitzed Sioux Falls 2 from the opening whistle on the way to a 5-1 victory in the fifth place game of the State Boys’ Hockey Tournament.

“It started from the puck drop for us. That was one of the things that we talked about after (Saturday’s) game. We started really slow against Watertown. We just did not want to have that start again,” said Cougars coach Jeremey Backous. “What we talked about prior to the game was just being aggressive on pucks right from the start. Pressure them everywhere. I thought the boys did that really well in the first period. We generated a lot of opportunities.”

In fact, the Cougars had 19 shots on goal in the opening period, scoring a pair of goals, both by freshman Carson Myhre just 13 seconds apart.

Aberdeen pushed the lead to 3-0 on a goal by Jacob Scheel before Sioux Falls cut into the margin on a power play. The Cougars answered right back on a goal by senior Mason Carrels 19 seconds later.

“Mason Carrels had a really big goal for us. He had gotten called for a penalty and Sioux Falls 2 scored on it and literally his very next shift he came out and put one in the back of the net,” Backous said. “That was really a nice response from him and also a positive for the team. You never want to allow the opposing team to hang around and feel good about themselves. I thought by us answering right away like Mason did with that shot, it really gave us an energy bump and kind of took the wind out of their sails.”

Phillip Zens added another goal for the Cougars before a scoreless third period.

Last season the Cougars managed to win just four league games. This year, the team finished with 13 league victories, including a pair in the state tournament.

It was a fitting finish for 13 senior players, some of whom had no previous state tournament experience.

“It’s nice to be able to send those seniors off with two wins in the state tournament. Four of these seniors, that’s been their only wins of the state tournament. It was nice to be able to have them end their careers that way,” Backous said. “And also for the underclassmen that are coming up to understand what it takes to compete every shift, every game in a state tournament. You try to play with intensity all year in the regular season, but there’s really no substitute for state tournament experience.”

Backous said the road back to next year’s state tournament starts today. He said it will take more hard work in the off season if the Cougars want to become one of the state’s elite teams.

The Cougars hope to build off of this season’s success moving forward.

“The direction we’re moving I feel good about with the some of the younger talent we have coming up,” Backous said. “It’s going to be hard to lose some of that senior leadership we had, but we have some younger kids that have definitely stepped up in situations and roles this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with another year under their belt.”

Sioux Falls Flyers (2) 0 1 0 – 1

Aberdeen Cougars 2 3 0 – 5

First Period: 1, AC, Carson Myhre (Brady Huff), 9:51; 2, AC, Myhre (Brendan Livermont, Ian Ahlberg), 9:38.

Second Period: 3, AC, Jacob Scheel (Kasen Claymore, Mason Carrels), 14:19; 4, SF, Camden Ponto, power play, 10:23; 5, AC, Carrels (unassisted), 10:04; 6, AC, Phillip Zens (Livermont), 1:52.

Third Period: No scoring.

Shots on Goal: Sioux Falls Flyers 16; Aberdeen Cougars 37.

Goalies: Sioux Falls Flyers, Ian Pattison (32 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Carson Hundstad (15 saves).