PIERRE – The Aberdeen Cougars were forced to play uphill hockey on Sunday and came up short against Oahe.

The Cougars were unable to slow down the Capitals in an 8-5 boys’ hockey setback.

“It’s hard to win hockey games when you put yourself in a hole early,” said Aberdeen coach Jeremey Backous. “I thought our feet were a little heavy to start, but we got better as the game progressed. We had a pretty good third period, but in general, we have to take better care of the puck and be better in our own zone.”

The Cougars grabbed a lead when Talan Dutenhoeffer scored with 4:20 left in the opening period, but Oahe responded with two goals to close out the period, then scored twice early in the second period for a 4-1 advantage.

From there, the two squads divided the final six goals of the contest, but the Cougars could never get over the hump. Aberdeen eventually closed the deficit down to 6-5 on goals by Devon Fischbach and Aiden Posthumus, but the Capitals tacked on two more goals to secure the victory.

“It seemed like we couldn’t get out of own way at times today,” Backous said. “Whenever we scored to close the gap, we’d have a costly turnover that ended up in the back of our net.”

Fischbach finished with two goals and an assist. Brady Huff also scored for the Cougars.

The Cougars, 3-2 on the season, will have a week off before hosting Huron at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Odde Ice Center.

“The kids showed some resiliency today, so that’s a positive,” Backous said. “We’ll keep working and get better.”

Aberdeen Cougars 1 1 3 – 5

Oahe Capitals 2 3 3 – 8

First Period: 1, Talan Dutenhoeffer (Jack Podoll), 4:20; 2, OC, Keegan Kitts (Kellen Herman), 2:15; 3, OC, Aidan Dozark (Barret Schweitzer, Dylan Dodson), :47.

Second Period: 4, OC, Jarron Beck (Dodson, Andrew Coughlin), 16:07; 5, OC, Dodson (Ayden Behm, Coughlin), 15:40; 6, AC, Brady Huff (Devon Fischbach, Lleyton Kleffman), 6:33; 7, OC, Beck (unassisted), 1:02.

Third Period: 8, AC, Fischbach (Huff), 16:25; 9, OC, Coughlin (Beck), 13:13; 10, AC, Fischbach (Jaxon Danielson), 4:42; 11, AC, Aiden Posthumus (unassisted), 4:04; 12, OC, Schweitzer (Dozark), 2:41; 13, OC, Dodson (Beck, Luke Miller), 1:15.

Shots on Goal: Aberdeen Cougars 28; Oahe Capitals 37.

Goalies: Aberdeen Cougars, Colton Townsend (29 saves); Oahe Capitals, Spencer Anderson (23 saves).