Oahe Seniors End Regular Season With 5-3 Win Over Aberdeen

Oahe seniors Jacob Fuerst, Nick Gusso and Riley Bren played their last games at the Expo Center as the Capitals turned in a solid performance in defeating Aberdeen 5-3.

Peter Sanchez was the star on offense for the Caps with three goals and an assist, while Matt Pease stopped 29 of 32 Cougar shots on goal.

Following the game, the three seniors fulfilled a Capitals hockey tradition by sliding bare chested down the Expo Center ice.

Oahe has one regular season game remaining at Mitchell Friday before heading to the state tournament in Brookings March 13-15th.

More game photos here.

Riley Bren

Jacob Fuerst

Nick Gusso

Oahe Capital Seniors

Capitals Complete Weekend Sweep Over Yankton 7-4

Following their Saturday night 10-1 victory, the Oahe Capitals again dominated on Sunday in winning the second game of the weekend doubleheader over Yankton 7-4.

Much like the first game, the Capitals jumped out to an early lead again on the scoring of Landon Badger.  Badger’s two first period goals gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead midway through the period.  Cody List got Yankton on the board later in the period and the teams went to the first intermission at 2-1.  List’s goal came on the power play, which would prove to be a problem for the Capitals as they gave up three power play goals on the night.  Fifteen penalties for 36 minutes gave Yankton twelve power play chances.  Also, because of the fifteen penalties in one game, league rules require that coach Rob Kittay sit out the Capitals next game.

Less than 5 minutes into the second period, Badger would complete his hat trick with his 7th goal of the weekend.  Derek Burke and Chase Bolte followed with goals within less than four minutes and the Capitals were on cruise control with a 5-1.  Bolte and Riley Bren added goals in the third period to round out the scoring for Oahe.  Yankton scored two late game goals to make it appear closer than the game really was.

In addition to List, goal scorers for Yankton included Charles Stephenson, Trey Bakke and Mitchell Vavra.  Austin Barger assisted on three of the four Yankton goals.

Nick Gusso with two was the only Capitol with more than one assist.  Brody Hultman stopped 29 of 33 shots to get the win in net for Oahe.  Cristian Slate faced 32 shots for Yankton, stopping 25.

Oahe travels to Sioux Falls next weekend for games against Sioux Falls 1 on Friday night and Sioux Falls 2 Saturday afternoon.  The Capitals will then travel to Watertown on the 20th before a long holiday break until their next game on January 10th at home against Huron.

More photos from Sunday’s game here.

Nick Gusso

Landon Badger

Brody Hultman

Capitals Open League Play With 10-1 Win Over Yankton

The Oahe Capitals scored early and often on their way to an easy 10-1 win over Yankton in the first league game of the season for both teams.

Landon Badger scored twice in the first five minutes on his way to a first period hat trick to help the Capitals to a 5-1 lead after the first period.  Zach Fendrich scored twice in 11 seconds in the middle period to give him three for the game and Oahe led comfortably 7-1 after two periods.  In the third period, Badger got his fourth goal of the night which combined with his three assists for a total seven points for the game.  Other goal scorers for Oahe were Derek Burke, Coleman Varty and Nick Gusso each with one.

While not tested often, Matt Pease was solid in net for the Capitals stopping 16 of 17 shots on goal.

The same two teams will faceoff at 4:15 tomorrow afternoon.

More game photos here.

Coleman Varty

Zach Fendrich

Landon Badger

Capitals Win Preseason Game 6-3 Over Huron

The Oahe Capitals came out firing with a goal from Landon Badger only 8 seconds into the game on their way to a preseason victory over the Huron All-Stars at the ExpoCenter on Friday night.  The Caps went on to score three more goals to take a commanding 4-0 lead after one period.  After a solid first period, the final two periods were typical early season play and filled with many penalties as the Capitals were able to hold on for a 6-3 win.

Peter Sanchez and Jaden Griese led the Oahe offense with two goals each, while Badger and Nick Gusso both added one. Goaltender Matt Pease picked up the win in his first varsity start in net. The two teams will battle again tomorrow night in Huron.

More game pics here.

Peter Sanchez

Matt Pease

Nick Gusso

Landon Badger

Pierre Soccer Wins 3-0 Over Rapid City Central

After suffering their first loss of the season on Friday night to Rapid City Stevens, the Pierre Governors boys varsity soccer team turned in a solid performance on Saturday morning defeating Rapid City Central 3-0 at the Pierre Indian Learning Center field.

Pierre scored all of its goals in the first half, with two by Cody Kuehl and one from Cole Kruse.  Kruse assisted on both Kuehl goals and Kuehl returned the favor on Kruse’s goal.

The Pierre Lady Governors varsity was also successful in their match against the Cobblers, winning 1-0.

The Pierre squad play will play two games again next weekend, traveling to Aberdeen on Friday and hosting Watertown on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

Cole Kruse

Cody Kuehl

 

Governors Advance in District 3AA With 58-46 Win Over Aberdeen

The Pierre Governors advanced to the finals of the District 3AA playoffs with a 58-46 win over Aberdeen Central at Riggs gym on Tuesday.

The Governors controlled the game throughout and were able to get significant contributions from a number of different players.  Pierre suffered a setback early in the second half when big man Cooper Walton went down with a sprained ankle with the Governors holding a 7 point lead.  Walton was unable to return to action, but the tandem of Brevin Kaiser and Max Seward, both coming off the bench, were able to control things inside as Pierre built its lead to as much as 18 points.

Kaiser led the Governors in scoring while Seward was the only other Pierre player in double figures with 10.

With the victory, Pierre advances to the finals where they will travel to Huron on Friday to face the Tigers.  Huron handed Pierre two of their three regular season losses, including the season finale in Huron.

With a victory, Pierre will advance to the State AA Tournament where they will have an opportunity to defend their state championship from last year.  A loss to Huron would leave the Governors with a final one game playoff against the loser of Sturgis – Rapid City Stevens for a spot in the state tournament field.

More game photos here.

Max Seward

Brevin Kaiser

Capitals Grind Out 4-1 Win Over Aberdeen

The Oahe Capitals ended a three game league losing streak with a tough 4-1 victory over Aberdeen at the Expo Center on Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Braxton Farmen put the Cougars ahead 1-0 on a power play goal 3:45 into the second period.  The Capitals evened the score a short time later when Cash Anderson scored on the power play.  Two more second period goals from Jacob Fuerst and Landon Badger had the Capitals comfortably ahead 3-1 after two periods.  Badger picked up his second goal of the game for the only scoring in the third period.  Alec Norwick had two assists on the day, with Anderson, Auston Buchholtz and Bo Atkins each adding one.

Alex Meagher had a fairly quiet day in net, facing only 16 shots and stopping 15.

Next action for the Capitals is Saturday February 8th against undefeated Brookings.  It will be Parents Night and the Capitals’ final home game of the season.

More game photos here.

Alex Meagher

Landon Badger

Alec Norwick

Pierre Escapes With 60-57 Win Over Brandon Valley

After an impressive showing in defeating #2 Rapid City Stevens on Tuesday night, the Pierre Governors struggled at home for most of the game against Brandon Valley before moving ahead in the fourth quarter to take a hard fought 60-57 win.

The Governors trailed for the entire first half before taking a brief one point lead late in the third period.  Brandon Valley quickly retook the lead, which they held again until less than 6 minutes to go in the game.  The Governors were able to take their second lead of the game with 5:31 to play and ultimately hold on for the three point victory to move their season record to 9-2.

Brevin Kaiser led the Governors in scoring with 16 points off the bench.  Cooper Walton again had a strong game with 13 inside.  Garrett Pochop was the third Governor in double figures with 10.

Pierre has little time to rest as they will host Brookings (3-9) on Saturday night.  Pierre beat Brookings on their home court 65-59 earlier in the year.

More game photos here.

Garrett Pochop

Brevin Kaiser

Cooper Walton

Governors 60-50 Winners Over #2 Rapid City Stevens

After suffering a 20 point loss to #1 ranked Huron last week, the Pierre Governors rebounded with a sound performance at home in defeating the #2 ranked Rapid City Stevens Raiders 60-50 on Tuesday night.

Stevens jumped out to an early 8-2 lead, but the Governors ended the first quarter with a 14-5 run and never trailed the remainder of the game.

It was another balanced scoring night for the Governors led by Cooper Walton with 15 (10 in the second half) and Trey Livermont’s 11 (including a big 4 point play in the second quarter), both coming off the bench.  Brevin Kaiser was the remaining Governor in double figures with 10.

The Raiders were led by their star guard and Mr. Basketball candidate Steven Schaefer who tossed in 28 despite a strong defensive effort by the Governors.

Next action for Pierre (9-2) is Friday night when they host Brandon Valley (7-5), a team they beat earlier in the second game of the year by 14.

More game photos here.

Cooper Walton

Brevin Kaiser

Capitals Drop Second Straight 3-2 In Overtime To Watertown

The Oahe Capitals suffered their second straight league loss on Sunday afternoon to the visiting Watertown Lakers by the heartbreaking score of 3-2 in overtime.  Watertown’s Spencer Riddle, the league’s leading goal scorer, got his second of the game 5:44 into overtime for the Laker win.

After losing to league leading Sioux Falls-2 on Saturday, it was a determined Capitals squad that took the ice on Sunday looking for win over the second place Lakers in order to stay in contention for the league title.  Oahe got on the board first when Landon Badger scored less than 5 minutes into game off assists from Bo Atkins and Will Gordon to give the Capitals an early lead.  The Lakers were able to tie the score before the period ended when Joe Foley scored, with assists from Patrick Merrigan and Bubba Spiering.  Watertown scored the only goal of the second period on Riddle’s first of the game, again assisted by Merrigan and Spiering.

Entering the third period trailing 2-1, Oahe ramped up the pressure in an effort to even the score.  With 6 minutes left in the game Badger was tripped while on a breakaway attempt and a penalty shot was awarded.  Badger was able to convert the penalty to tie the game and send it to overtime, only to see Riddle win it for Watertown.

Alex Meagher was strong in net for the Capitals, stopping 37 of the 40 shots he faced. Paige Falk earned the win in net for Watertown as she stopped 27 of the 29 Capital shots on goal.

With the win, Watertown remains in second place in the league.  Oahe drops to fourth after Brookings moved past them following a weekend sweep of Rushmore.

The Capitals travel to Mitchell for a single game next Saturday, with their next home game February 1st against Aberdeen.

More game photos here.

Landon Badger

Alex Meagher