Sidney Herald

It was a good weekend for the Richland junior gold hockey boys team as the Rangers, the fourth seed, advanced to the championship of the state tournament Sunday in Grand Forks, N.D. While Richland fell 10-4 to the Fargo Flyers in the championship game, the Rangers represented themselves well at the tourney.

“Overall, I was really pleased with the effort of the kids this weekend,” Ranger coach Jason Schmierer said. “While the kids are disappointed now, they are going to look back and see that what they did was pretty special.” Richland advanced to the semi-finals with a 6-4 victory over Fargo Flames Gold Friday in a first-roud game. “We came out and jumped on them early. We didn’t play our best game, but we got the job done,” Schmierer said.

The Rangers defeated Langdon 7-1 in the semi-finals. “Langdon was on an emotional high after beating Grand Forks the night before,” Schmierer said. “We were able to take their legs away from them and take control. I thought we played very well.”

Richland came out quickly in the championship game as Andrew Christensen scored at 2:31 of the first period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead over the Flyers.

“We came out really strong Sunday and were just smoking,” the coach said. “Honestly, their experience took control of the game. It was a pretty new experience for our kids.”

Fargo scored goals at 7:43, 11:36 and 16:41 to take a 3-1 lead going into the second. The Flyers took complete control midway through the second period by scoring four goals in a span of 1:44 and another goal at 15:27 to take an 8-1 lead. Tyler Christensen found the net at 15:52 with an assist by Chase Cvancara to cut Fargo’s lead to 8-2 going into the third period.

Matt Harris scored at 2:10 to get Richland within five, but the Flyers scored two consecutive goals to take a 10-3 lead. Harris scored at 18:50 to make the score 10-4 in favor of Fargo. The Flyers wrapped up the 10-4 victory.

“It was a great experience for our seniors. I really wish we could have pulled it out, but I’m proud of what we accomplished,” Schmierer said. “For our underclassmen, I think this is a great building block. They know what it takes to be successful.”

The Rangers had three players earn All-State honors. Senior forwards Harris and Brisben were named to the All-State team for the second time in a row while senior defenseman Keane Fink is a first-time All-State performer.

“Matt just has a knack for the game, John is kind of the same way, he’s a real high motor kid, and Keane is a real intense player,” he said. “It’s a cool deal. All three players deserved the recognition.”

Richland had seven seniors in Brisben, Fink, Harris, Jordan Nesper, Kameron Milne, Tyler Chirstensen and Jeff Kuylen.

“The seniors are a real great group of kids. I’m proud of what they accomplished and I wish them nothing but the best,” Schmierer said.