BROOKINGS – The Aberdeen Cougars found themselves in a foreign position before getting back to familiar territory Friday night.

The Cougars rallied from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Mitchell Marlins for a third consecutive time in a 5-2 victory during the opening round of the Dakota Premier Classic in Brookings.

Aberdeen got off to a rough start and trailed by two goals following the opening period.

“We obviously did not come out ready to play today and went down by two goals,” said Cougars coach Rob Weinmeister. “We talked between the first and second periods about using our speed and putting more pressure on them, and I thought the girls really responded. And we were getting good looks and just missed a few other goals.”

The Cougars leveled the contest with a pair of second-period goals as Kailyn Poppen and Aiden Raap both found the back of the net for Aberdeen.

The Cougars then took control in the final period with three more goals as Rachel Siefken, Ema Rehder and Alyssa Roehrich each scored once. Rehder also added two assists in addition to her goal.

The Cougars ended up with 47 more shots on goal than Mitchell.

“I was happy with how we responded, but disappointed in how we came out,” Weinmeister said. “Again, beating a good team three consecutive times is difficult, but we should have come to play right away.”

Aberdeen, 19-3 on the season, faces a squad from Minnetonka, Minn. at noon today and then plays a team from Arizona at 7:45 tonight in the three-day tournament.

Aberdeen Cougars 0 2 3 – 5

Mitchell Marlins 2 0 0 – 2

First Period: 1, MM, Reese Amick (Makenna Tronnes, Tiffany Hatwan), 12:43; 2, MM, Brynlee Sabers, 11:50.

Second Period: 3, AC, Kailyn Poppen (Sydney Hofer), 4:28; 4, AC, Aiden Raap (Ema Rehder), 3:23.

Third Period: 5, AC, Rachel Siefken (Rehder),15:29; 6, AC, Rehder (Raniesa Mattke, Madalynn Witte), 5:53; 7, AC, Alyssa Roehrich (Morgan Jones), 4:35.

Shots on Goal: Aberdeen Cougars 57; Mitchell Marlins 10.