Ranger JV1 brings home state title

The Brookings Ranger Junior Varsity 1 team captured a state championship over the weekend at the new rink in Watertown.

The Rangers entered the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed and proved it with strong wins over Brandon Valley, Sioux Falls West and Rushmore to capture the fourth state title of the year for Brookings boys youth teams.

Brookings 4, Brandon Valley 1
Rhys Heiberger scored twice for the Rangers, Jack Lovseth added a playmaker and Brookings won their quarterfinal.

Cody Jacobson and Connor Buckley scored for the Rangers, and Mavrick Bortnem had an assist.

Matthew Bothe made 19 saves in net to secure the victory.

Brookings 3, Sioux Falls West 2
The Rangers scored on their first shift, weathered a Flyers comeback and then locked down their defense to preserve the win.

Cooper Schneider scored just 16 seconds into the game with assists going to Maxten Jensen and Ethan Foerster.

Cody Jacobson added a power play goal in the first off feeds from Lovseth and Schneider.

The Flyers would tie the game at 2 but Jensen scored off a Schneider feed with just 31 seconds left to play in the second.

The Rangers defense was on display in the third, when they took no penalties and allowed just four shots on goal.

Ryder Anderson made 10 saves on 12 total shots to preserve the win.

Brookings 4, Rushmore 1
It was all Rangers in the state final as Schneider again scored on the game’s first shift and the Rangers never looked back.

Schneider would add a second goal and Foerster and Buckely also scored for Brookings.

Cody Jacobson had a pair of assists with Jensen, Foerster and Lovseth credited with one each.

Anderson again went the distance between the pipes, stopping 16 shots to win the game.

Girls Varsity
The Girls Varsity Rangers finished their season in second place after a loss to Sioux Falls in the state championship game in Mitchell on Saturday night.

The Rangers, who finished second to the Flyers during the regular season as well, made a run to the title game with wins over Rushmore and Pierre.

Brookings 2, Rushmore 0
Brookings dominated the game, outshooting the Thunder 36-10, but could find the net just twice in the win.

Anna Rasmussen scored in the second period off passes from Miyah Foerster and Kinzey Grendler. Miyah Foerster then found the net midway through the third with an assist credited to Grave DeVries.

Rorii Quam easily made that stand up in goal, securing the shutout victory.

Brookings 7, Oahe 1
The Rangers sticks warmed up in the semifinals.

Grendler had a hat trick, Miyah Foerster scored twice and Jordyn Anderson and Sawyer Triplett chipped in goals for Brookings.
Sawyer Triplett and Julissa Peterson had two assists each, with single helpers credited to Brooke Kruse, DeVries, Miyah Foerster and Rasmussen.

Quam made 16 saves between the pipes to earn the win.

Sioux Falls 5, Brookings 0.
The Flyers scored on their first shift and never looked back.

Quam made 31 saves for the Rangers. Flyers goalie Moriah Lincoln turned aside all 20 Rangers shots to win the game for Sioux Falls.

Junior Varsity 2
The untethered junior varsity team from Brookings made the state tournament as the seventh seed, but dropped both games it played in Watertown over the weekend.

Sioux Falls East 5, Brookings 0
Goaltender Paxtyn Pottorff was the lone bright spot for the Rangers, stopping 46 of 51 Flyers shots in the quarterfinal loss.

Yankton 4, Brookings 1
The Rangers outshot the Bucks 37-32 but could not find the back of the net in the season-ending loss.
Landon Schumacher had the lone Brookings goal deep in the second period off assists from Un-Hyeng Keay and Camden Reicks.

The Rangers pulled their goalie down a goal and with the power play late, but Yankton found the empty net twice to provide the final margin.
Pottorff made 28 saves on 30 shots in goal.