HURON — The Huron All-Stars earned their second win of the 2017 Rooster Cup Tournament with a 9-4 victory against the Aberdeen Cougars on Sunday at Bergman Arena.
The win helped the All-Stars secure a second-place finish in the six-team event.
Brookings finished undefeated at 3-0 to claim the 2017 Rooster Cup title. Using a tiebreaker of total goals scored, Huron went 2-1 to claim the second spot, while the Neepawa Tigers of Canada were third, also with a 2-1 record.
The All-Stars scored seven of the first eight goals en route to the victory on Sunday.
Carson Duba opened the scoring with an unassisted goal for Huron. Jackson Hook capitalized on a power play to make it 2-0, scoring on a pass from Rei Hoops with 5:46 to play in the opening period.
Aberdeen narrowed its deficit to one with its first goal of the game by Trey Wagemann on a pass from Tommy Chandler.
A mere 37 seconds after the goal by the Cougars, Duba found the net on an unassisted shot to boost the lead to 3-1 for the All-Stars, where it stayed for the remainder of the first period.
Less than a minute into the second period, Walker Schiltz added to Huron’s lead, scoring on a pass from Spencer Busch. The duo then repeated the feat just two minutes later during a short-handed situation to give the All-Stars a 5-1 advantage.
Xavier Erickson would score the third goal of the period for Huron on a pass from Schiltz during a power play.
Schiltz then earned the hat trick with his third goal of the period for the All-Stars on a pass from Erickson to make it 7-1.
Erickson would score a pair of goals in the final period to also earn a hat trick for Huron. The first was unassisted, while the second was of the short-handed variety with Schiltz and Andrew Hansen combining on the assist.
Aberdeen would have three goals in the final period, as well. Jake Walth scored the first two, with Kael Campbell having the final one. Recording assists were Chandler, Matt Dohman and Elias Altman.
Marty Boetel recorded 20 saves, including 12 in the third period, to earn the win in the net for the All-Stars.
Huron had 33 shots in the game, with Aberdeen goalie Matt Feiock stopping 24.
The All-Stars are now off until they open league play against Aberdeen at 1 p.m. Dec. 9 in Aberdeen.
Huron’s Walker Schiltz shoots the puck as an Aberdeen player converges during their final game of the 2017 Rooster Cup Tournament on Sunday at Bergman Arena.
Huron goalie Marty Boetel stops a shot by Aberdeen’s Ethan Vikander during their final Rooster Cup game Sunday at Bergman Arena.
Photos by Mike Carroll/Plainsman