The Aberdeen Cougars struck first, but the Yankton Bucks struck the most Saturday night at the Odde Ice Center.

An out of rhythm night hampered the Cougars in a 3-1 boys’ hockey setback.

Yankton was on the attack all night outshooting the Cougars 50-20, including 24 shots in the second period alone.

“I mean to give up 24 shots in one period is unacceptable,” said Cougars coach Chris Medill. “You’re never gonna win a hockey game that way. And then it just, again that snowball got rolling downhill and we couldn’t stop it.”

It wasn’t that way, especially early on. It was the Cougars who struck first with 12:38 left in the first period, which helped set the tone for a good part of the period.

“I thought it was gonna set the tone. And it did,” said Medill. “I mean the first period, we played well enough.”

Briggs Medill put the puck in the back of the net for the Cougars on an assist from Jack Podoll.

“It was the beginning of the game, so it was energetic,” said Briggs Medill. “It just always feels good to score a goal and get that energy out there.”

The Cougars had an edge in shots on goal 6-5 with 6:06 remaining in the first. But the Bucks hung around the net and took four consecutive shots before putting one in, tying the game at 1-1 with 4:44 remaining.

Only 39 seconds after that goal, the Bucks put their second one in the back of the net. That goal was part of the strength of Yankton, and something the Cougars knew would be coming.

“We had a couple guys try and change in the neutral zone, and we know they score goals off the rush. And we just gave it to them,” said Coach Medill. “They turned and they went. And I told them before the game, we can’t let them get out and race, because we won’t catch them and that’s exactly what happened.”

The Cougars trailed 2-1 after the first period and were outshot 14-7. The Bucks capitalized on their offensive rush, scoring for the third and final time of the night at the 7:23 mark of the second period, increasing their shots to 27, compared to the 14 for the Cougars at the time of the goal.

The Bucks took control as they continued to limit the offensive output of the Cougars, while still putting up plenty of their own shots.

“Totally out of rhythm. Outside of that first period. I mean, we just couldn’t get possession,” Coach Medill said. “They took us completely out of our game. Once we did get into our offensive zone, we just started throwing pucks. We had no composure whatsoever.”

The senior heavy lineup of Aberdeen had opportunities at the net, but shot from distance giving the puck right back to the Bucks. The shots from distance were left high, leaving the Buck defenders with an easy rebound to get back on the offensive attack quickly.

“If you’re gonna be the guy that takes that shot, you better not go over the net and rim out of the zone,” said Medill. “We got 15 seniors on this team, and we still struggle with guys having poise with the puck.”

Not only did the Cougars limit themselves with shot selection, two crucial penalties in the third period forced the them to play shorthanded for nearly three and a half minutes.

“Just shooting ourselves in the foot and it happens time and time again, and it just can’t happen,” said Coach Medill. “It’s the mental mistakes that have been killing us all season.”

With the end of the season nearing, and the Cougars fighting for playoff position, they have a game plan in place, it just comes down to execution for the final three games.

“You can take a horse to water,” Coach Medill said, “but you can’t make it drink.”

The Cougars are back in action at 3 this afternoon for another game against Yankton at the Odde Ice Center.

Yankton Bucks 2 1 0 – 3

Aberdeen Cougars 1 0 0 – 1

First Period: 1, AC, Briggs Medill (Jack Podoll), 12:38; 2, YB, Connor Perakslis (unassisted), 4:44; 3, YB, Cooper Larsen (Dawsn Thoms), 4:05

Second Period: 4, YB, Connor Perakslis (Kylen O’Connor), 7:23

Third Period: no scoring

Shots on Goal: Yankton Bucks 50; Aberdeen Cougars 20

Goalies: Yankton Bucks, Luke Moeller (19 saves); Aberdeen Cougars, Carson Hundstad (47 saves).