The Aberdeen Cougars blistered the Rushmore goal with 60 shots on Sunday, but it took only one major miscue to provide the game-winning goal at the Odde Ice Center.

The Cougars scored an unlikely short-handed goal to start the third period on the way to a 2-0 girls’ hockey victory over the Thunder, the third win in two days over the Rapid City squad.

Aberdeen entered the final period on a penalty kill in a scoreless game when a Rushmore player turned the puck over to Maddie Sandvig, who promptly deposited the puck in the back of the net less than 20 seconds into the period.

“One of my linemates forgot we were on a penalty kill,” Sandvig said of what transpired. “So I think we looked a little aggressive. I think they were a little bit on their heels and it just worked out for us, I guess.”

Sandvig said those high-percentage opportunities are sometimes the most difficult to convert.

“I’m happy that I got that one in; 1-on-0’s are pretty scary,” Sandvig said, “because you feel like you gotta get it in, so I’m glad I did.”

That rare sequence gave the Cougars a lead they never lost, and seemed a bit ironic considering they had one chance after another to produce way more scoring.

“We got three wins. I think one of the losses was maybe against ourselves a little bit. To get 60 shots on goal and not get a lot out of it,” said Aberdeen coach David Sandvig. “We’ve talked about that this year, not necessarily an analogy that they all love, but I talk about getting a little better yield out of our crop. We tend to be able to plant a few things, but we don’t get the best yield out of it. That’s something we need to work on.”

Fortunately for the Cougars, Chloe Vikander had another strong game in goal, stopping all 28 shots she faced, including a two-person power play for the Thunder late in the second period.

“I think our penalty kill is pretty strong, so I don’t get super worried a lot of the time,” Vikander said. “I just try and stay calm and just try and talk as much as I can, like tell them what’s going on, because I can see way more than they can most of the time.”

Vikander stopped shots from all sorts of different angles on Sunday, including a few while laying flat on her back.

“She was flipping and flopping all over the place to save stuff,” Coach Sandvig. “I think she probably saved six pucks with her ear this weekend, laying on the ice.”

Vikander said there was a reason why she spent so much time off of her feet for the weekend.

“I just got my skates sharpened a couple days ago,” Vikander said. “I didn’t really have them built to the right spot, so a couple times I was catching a few edges, and just fell.”

Vikander ended up stopping 53 shots in all during the three-game sweep. She said she just tries to do what she can to help the squad.

“It’s just try to play your hardest all the time and just do whatever you can to stop it,” Vikander said. “That’s really my only job.”

The Cougars added a goal in the final minute when Maddie Sandvig spotted Alyssa Roehrich for a goal with 49.5 seconds remaining.

“I was going to try to skate it up the middle, because obviously I scored once, but I just didn’t see the opportunity,” Sandvig said, “and I just went to look up before I went around the net and Alyssa was there, and I was hoping she’d get a one-timer and she did.”

Sandvig, who has played defense in the past, is thriving in her new role with the team so far this season, finishing with two goals and three assists in her past three games alone.

“I got switched to offense, just to try to see if things would be a little different in the offensive zone, and it’s been working out a little bit for us,” she said. “Got a few assists, a couple goals since. It’s been fun trying to learn a different position and learn the game from a different point of view.”

The coach and players were all in agreement that the squad needs to do more with their opportunities, but made the most of the golden one that was handed to them on Sunday.

“You take advantage when you can. It’s frustrating when you create a lot of advantages and they don’t bring anything, and then they give you an advantage on something it’s nice to capitalize,” Coach Sandvig said, “but we’ve got to create more of our own advantages in games like this.”

The Cougars, 9-0 in league play, will remain at home for two more games, hosting Brookings on Friday and Saturday, before playing at Mitchell on Sunday.

Rushmore Thunder 0 0 0 – 0

Aberdeen Cougars 0 0 2 – 2

First Period: No scoring.

Second Period: No scoring.

Third Period: 1, AC, Madeline Sandvig (unassisted), 16:42; 2, AC, Alyssa Roehrich (Sandvig), :49.

Shots on Goal: Rushmore Thunder 28; Aberdeen Cougars 60.

Goalies: Rushmore Thunder, Bristol Simmons (58 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Chloe Vikander (28 saves).