Sunday’s Super Bowl football game was not the only contest with a memorable overtime ending. The Aberdeen Cougars had their own fantastic finish in the closing seconds of overtime at the Odde Ice Center Sunday afternoon.

Quincy Madsen scored the game-winning goal with 11.9 seconds remaining to give the Cougars a 4-3 boys’ hockey win over Oahe.

After the two squads battled through nearly the entire 10-minute overtime, it appeared the game was destined for a tie, before an opportunity presented itself and Madsen made the most of it.

“The defender went down and I just tried to put it around him,” Madsen said of his game-winning goal.

When asked if he knew how much time was left, Madsen responded, “No, I had no idea. I got the puck. They turned it over right there, I got the puck and I was just like, I need to shoot this, so I shot it.”

As soon as the puck went into the net, Madsen rushed over to the student section located behind the glass to celebrate the occasion. He said the goal was among his most memorable accomplishments in sports.

“Oh, it’s great. It’s right up there with the best of them,” Madsen said. “It just feels so good to win right in front of the home crowd, in front of the student section.”

It appeared that the Cougars wouldn’t need any last-second heroics after they opened a 3-0 lead over the squad from Pierre. Talan Dutenhoeffer scored Aberdeen’s first goal before Aiden Posthumus added back-to-back goals.

Meanwhile, Aberdeen goalie Colton Townsend was racking up one save after another. However, the Capitals finally broke through with six minutes remaining and exploded for three goals in two minutes to tie the score.

“He played outstanding for us,” Backous said of Townsend. “I think the three we gave up at the end were just defensive breakdowns, leaving people open in front of the net.”

Townsend, who finished with 41 saves in the contest, said you just have to keep an even mindset if a puck gets past.

“You’re just always focusing on the next shot,” Townsend said, “because you can’t do anything about the ones that already happened.”

Townsend also came up big right before overtime as the Capitals finish regulation on a power play.

The intensity only gets elevated when a game goes to sudden-death overtime.

“It is a little bit nerve-wrecking,” Townsend said, “but you just got to stay calm and focus on the next shot.”

In the end, the junior gave his squad a chance to pull off the victory.

“He stood on his head back there for us,” Backous said, “and we’re super thankful for it.”

While Townsend didn’t literally stand on his head, he did actually faceplant on the ice after a collision with an approaching Oahe player.

“I went to go pass the puck and just got run over,” Townsend said.

The dramatic victory was much needed after a 10-goal loss to Brookings on Saturday night.

“Especially with a three-goal lead, that’s not the way you want to finish the game,” Backous said, “but ultimately to prevail, just super proud of the kids for sticking to it, especially after (Saturday) night’s performance in Brookings. We know we’re a better team than that.”

And Madsen’s final shot found the back of the net, it capped a memorable contest in the best way possible for the Cougars.

“It’s really good,” Madsen said, “especially because we haven’t beat Pierre in a long time.”

Backous said the game served as a good reminder to always play until the final horn, whether trying to maintain a lead or finding a way to hit a game-winner like Madsen did.

“He fired a good shot on net and thankfully it found the back,” Backous said. “Again, I could not be more proud of their effort and their response from (Saturday) night to today.”

The Cougars play at Watertown on Saturday, before hosting Brookings in their final home game of the season on Sunday.

Oahe Capitals 0 0 3 0 – 3

Aberdeen Cougars 0 2 1 1 – 4

First Period: no scoring.

Second Period: 1, AC, Talan Dutenhoeffer (Michael Weisenburger), 11:44; 2, AC, Aiden Posthumus (Quincy Madsen), 3:31.

Third Period: 3, AC, Posthumus (unassisted), 10:27; 4, OC, Dylan Dodson (Barret Schweitzer), 5:32; 5, Aidan Dozark (Keegan Kitts), 4:00; 6, OC, Kitts (Dozark, Schweitzer), 3:33.

Overtime: 7, AC, Madsen (uanassisted), :11.9.

Shots on Goal: Oahe Capitals 44; Aberdeen Cougars 31.

Goalies: Oahe Capitals, Spencer Anderson (27 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Colton Townsend (41 saves).