BROOKINGS – The Aberdeen Cougars got off to a rough start and were unable to cash in on scoring opportunities following that in a 1-0 girls’ hockey setback to the Brookings Rangers on Sunday.

“I’m a little disappointed how we didn’t come to play right away, especially after a good week of practice,” said Cougars coach Rob Weinmeister. “The postponement of Saturday’s game might have had something to do with that, but I think we are still learning to come prepared every day regardless of who we are playing.”

While the Cougars played better as the game wore on, they were unable to overcome a tough opening period which saw Brookings score the only goal of the contest.

“The first period was about as bad as we have played all year,” Weinmeister said. “Unfortunately we made a mistake and had the misfortune of a couple of our girls running into each other giving up a breakaway which resulted in the only score of the game.”

The Cougars ended up outshooting Brookings by a whopping 39-12 margin, but were unable to find the back of the net.

“We came out stronger in the second period and had a few great opportunities, but just could not put the puck in the net,” Weinmeister said.

While the Cougars finished the game strong, they were unable to overcome that opening period.

“The girls responded well, but as I have said before, it is about putting complete games together, and we didn’t do that today,” Weinmeister said. “But we’ll learn from it and get back at it (Monday) morning.”

The Cougars, 8-5 on the season, play in a three-day tournament in Brookings starting Friday.

Aberdeen Cougars 0 0 0 – 0

Brookings Rangers 1 0 0 – 1

First Period: 1, BR, Anna Rasmussen (unassisted), 4:04.

Second Period: No scoring.

Third Period: No scoring.

Shots on Goal: Aberdeen Cougars 39; Brookings Rangers 12.

Goalies: Aberdeen Cougars, Chloe Vikander (11 saves); Brookings Rangers, Rorii Quam (39 saves).