A high school hockey game lasts 51 minutes, but a span of just more than two minutes determined a boys’ league contest Saturday afternoon.

Sioux Falls East exploded for three goals in slightly more than two minutes to fuel a 7-2 victory over the Aberdeen Cougars at the Odde Ice Center.

“They play with good pace and it caught us off guard a little bit,” said Aberdeen coach Chris Medill, “and then once that snowball started rolling, we struggled to get it stopped. And then it just led to a loss.”

With the scored tied at 1-1 early in the second period, the visiting Flyers ripped off three goals in two minutes and 10 seconds, including back-to-back goals in 41 seconds to take control.

“We took a few too many shifts off there in the second period and it bit us,” Medill said. “We played well enough to win this game. We just can’t take shifts off and we did.”

The Cougars got on the scoreboard first when Briggs Medill got a rebound and found the back of the net in the first seven minutes of the contest.

“It was a rebound in front of the net,” Medill explained, “just crashed it, and it was there.”

However, the Flyers began to gain momentum and tied the score with four minutes remaining in the opening period.

Sioux Falls then hit the ice with a flurry to start the second period with three straight goals and the Cougars never recovered.

“I feel like we just got too down on ourselves after they started scoring,” Briggs Medill said.

The Flyers continue to tack on more goals, punishing Aberdeen on power play opportunities with methodical passing which led to high-percentage shots right in front of the Cougars’ goal.

“We can definitely glean something from this, because I’ve been talking with the guys in the power play about how we need to get better movement, and that’s exactly what they did to us today on their power play,” Coach Medill said. “They were moving with their feet, with the puck, and we broke down and they managed to score.”

The Flyers were efficient the entire game, managing to score seven goals on their first 32 shots of the contest.

“They have really good shots on the point,” said Aberdeen’s Derek Holland.

Sioux Falls was able to handle the puck, which played a key role in its ratio of shots on goal to actual goals.

“They pass the puck really well which gives them good opportunities to score,” Holland said.

Holland accounted for Aberdeen’s other goal, taking a feed from Jack Podoll to find the back of the net.

“My teammate Jack, he got me that puck and I buried it the best I could,” Holland said. “He gave me a great pass up front.”

The Cougars had just six less shots on goal than the Flyers, but ended up with five less goals in the game.

“The shots, I feel like we had a pretty good game,” Briggs Medill said, “we just couldn’t get it to work out in our favor.”

Medill noted that East’s puck movement not only helped the Flyers in their ability to score, it also keeps them fresh out on the ice.

“It saves a lot of energy in skating,” Briggs said, “you don’t have to skate to the puck, you just move it.”

With the shots on goal so close, Coach Medill said the final result was not indicative of what happened on the ice.

“We just have to be better. That’s what it comes down to. We just weren’t good enough,” the coach said. “I don’t think that the 7-2 score really dictates how this game went. It should have been a lot closer, but like I told the guys, we have days like that sometimes. We just gotta put it in the rearview mirror and go.”

The Cougars don’t have much time to dwell on the setback. They will back on the ice for the third time in three days, hosting Sioux Falls West at 3 this afternoon at the Odde Ice Center.

“Just forget about what happened today,” Briggs Medill said, “and come back stronger (Sunday).”

West has lost just two games, however, one of those came to the Cougars earlier this season.

When asked to compare the two Sioux Falls foes, Holland said, “The next one is probably a little better in the rankings, but we beat them last time, so we should do it again.”

With the regular season fast coming to a close, the Cougars are focusing on improving and playing their best hockey next month at the state tournament.

“I told the guys, let’s get over this hump. We’re going to work on some things. Let’s make sure we’re ready to go by the end of the season,” Coach Medill said. “If we take a few licks right now, I’m good with that. What matters is how were playing in March.”

Sioux Falls Flyers East 1 4 2 – 7

Aberdeen Cougars 1 0 1 – 2

First Period: 1, AC, Briggs Medill (Logan Fischbach, Trayke Roehrich), 10:14; 2, SF, Braydon Goddard (Vincent Thill, Jaxson Roesler), 4:00.

Second Period: 3, SF, Ryan Fenton (Maxwell Kallas, Goddard), 15:20; 4, SF, Fenton (Kallas, Hayden Hansen), 14:39; 5, SF, Benjamin Vermeer (Hansen), 12:29; 6, SF, Vermeer (Hansen, Kallas), 1:04.

Third Period: 7, SF, Kallas (unassisted), 14:15; 8, SF, Kallas (Roesler), 10:44; 9, AC, Derek Holland (Jack Podoll), 10:03.

Shots on Goal: Sioux Falls Flyers East 36; Aberdeen Cougars 30.

Goalies: Sioux Falls Flyers East, Trey Salonen (28 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Colton Townsend (29 saves).