BROOKINGS – It was a few weeks ago when the Brookings Rangers traveled to Sioux Falls for a Jan. 14 matchup with the Flyers.

The Rangers came into the game with a 10-1 record and were looking to keep pace with Aberdeen for the top of the SDAHA standings. After successfully navigating several injuries through the opening weeks, the Rangers were hitting their stride but an 8-7 loss brought more questions than answers.

“I was wondering if that game was going to kind of nip us in the bud,” Brookings head coach JaColby Anderson recalled. “But we had to take it as it is.”

A few weeks later, the Rangers hosted the Flyers in a rematch. The 4-3 victory at the Larson Ice Center showed how far Brookings has come over the last couple of weeks and how they are ready for a run in the state tournament, which begins on Saturday in the same building they saw as a turning point for the season.

The Rangers will enter the tournament as the third seed and will face Oahe in the first game of the tournament on Friday morning. While the Rangers are behind Sioux Falls and top-seeded Aberdeen, Anderson likes his team’s chances to make a deep run.

“I feel really good about this team,” Anderson said. “I think we are going into the tournament as a third seed, but we could have very easily been a second seed. … We’ve competed with every team up to this point and only having three losses, I feel like we have a really good chance of making some noise.”

A big reason for Anderson’s optimism is that the Rangers are a different team than they were the last time they visited Sioux Falls. After winning the following night against Oahe, the Rangers ventured outside of the SDAHA for a pair of tournaments, winning the Can/Am Challenge Cup in Madison and coming in third place at the Dakota Premier Classic in Brookings.

The Rangers beat teams from around the country in those two tournaments including the Colorado 14ers, Arizona Kachinas and Minnetonka and also dropped a 4-1 game to Omaha that Anderson believed saw his team compete throughout the game.

Brookings also showed the ability to come from behind during those games, which is something that Anderson believes will serve his team well in the state tournament – even if he would like to see his team take an early lead more often.

“If you’re a good team and you have the ability to come from behind, it really defines who you are as a team,” Anderson explained. “It shows a lot of character in what we had going in our locker room. Our girls never quit. They keep fighting and trying to come back and if we get on top earlier, I think that will help us take a lot of pressure off our goalies and some of our key players to play when we have the lead.”

Scoring goals hasn’t been a problem for the Rangers this season as they have six players with 20 points or more. Kiran Vugteveen led Brookings with a team-high 43 points and Savannah Barber was tied with Vugteveen for the team lead with 20 goals but Briella Van Dusseldorp (10 G, 16 A), Kinzey Grendler (12 G, 9 A), Anna Rasmussen (11 G, 10 A) and Taryn Richter (12 G, 8 A) have all shown an ability to step up when needed.

“That depth is really nice knowing that we don’t have to rely on one or two players to carry us,” Anderson said. “If our top two girls are having an off night, it’s nice knowing that we have three or four girls that can step up and make up for that. Anybody can go off at any given moment.”

The depth has also gotten stronger as the Rangers have gotten healthier throughout the season.

“It’s really nice going into the state tournament knowing that everybody’s healthy,” Anderson said. “Throughout the course of the season…it seems like one or two girls were battling injuries or dealing with illnesses. But knowing we have all 20 of our girls heading into the tournament, that’s something we feel pretty good about.”

While their offense has led the SDAHA with 112 goals scored, the Rangers would like to improve defensively. Althea Baker and Rorii Quam have both flirted with save percentages of around 85 percent this season, but Anderson believes his team could do a better job of limiting their opponent’s opportunities.

“I told the girls that the biggest thing is we have to take pride in our defense and make sure that we stay consistent,” Anderson said. “The team that has the best defensive zone pressure is going to have the most success and the more we keep the puck on our stick in the offensive zone by keeping it moving, generating quality shots, the more it’s going to lead to goals for us. If we capitalize on those two areas, it will give us a really good chance to come out on top.”

Overall, Anderson feels like the Rangers can get to the title game in what he sees as a wide-open tournament thanks to the different skill sets of each team. With a team that has weathered the storm throughout the year, the Rangers appear to be playing best hockey at the right time.

“Any of the teams from the No. 1 seed to the No. 5 seed can make noise in this tournament,” Anderson said. “If we take pride in our defense, eliminate shots and get offensive zone possession time, I feel like we have a really good shot of making our way to the title game.”