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PREP BOYS HOCKEY: Tigers wrap up regular season with record-tying 21st win, conference title

Photo by Sam Thiel Members of the Marshall boys hockey team celebrate after scoring a goal during their game against Waseca on Saturday at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul. The Tigers defeated the Bluejays 3-1.

ST. PAUL – Winning a season-tying best 21 victories? What about clinching a conference championship for the first time in program history? The No. 13-ranked Marshall boys hockey team was able to check both goals off its season-long list and more on Saturday night as the Tigers wrapped up their regular season with a 3-1 victory over Waseca at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.

Marshall coach Michael Weiss was pleased with his team’s effort and felt they made enough plays to match Waseca throughout the night.

“It was a good effort, Waseca came out playing hard and physical and tried to shut us down and we were able to battle through it and make the plays we needed to win the game,” Weiss said.

Playing in the TRIA Rink, better known as the practice facility for the Minnesota Wild, the Tigers and Bluejays played their conference game as the latest recipients of the State of Hockey “Game of the Week”. Weiss said they couldn’t pass up on the opportunity when it was presented to them and they enjoyed the experience.

“It was a lot of fun. When they first asked us to come down, Bruce (Remme) and I didn’t think it was an opportunity we could turn down and just seeing the kids when we rolled into town and saw the Xcel (Energy Center) on the way in and walked in here and saw this facility, it was just a huge boost for us,” Weiss said. “To see that and have a little motivation going forward in sections is huge.”

The two Big South Conference foes got out to a back-and-forth start, as the physicality level was immediately shown from the opening faceoff. Neither team would be able to find the back of the net throughout the majority of the first period, however, and it appeared the game would go into the second deadlocked at 0-0. But with under 15 seconds remaining, the Tigers got a golden opportunity and capitalized, as Bryson Whyte found the back of the net with just 10.3 seconds left off the assist from Mason Plante and Marshall would take an early 1-0 lead after one.

Plante said it was important for them to be able to get out to a good start like that and carry that momentum.

“That was huge,” Plante said. “We’ve been struggling in the first period this year and to end the first on a high note coming into the second with the momentum on our side is huge.”

Holding a slim lead, Marshall looked to extend its lead in the opening minutes of the second frame. The Tigers responded, as Jenson Meyer connected on a slap shot from out near the blue line with 10:23 left to push Marshall’s lead to 2-0. The Tigers later had another chance to further extend their advantage when Waseca was called for a checking-from-behind penalty and a five-minute power play for Marshall, but the Tigers couldn’t capitalize, still holding a 2-0 lead going into the third.

Weiss said he felt they did a good job of attacking the Waseca defense and capitalizing on the chances they were able to create on offense.

“I thought we did a good job of attacking their defense and creating some turnovers,” Weiss said. “We had a lot of good opportunities and cashed in on a few, but overall I thought we did well attacking the puck and getting after it.”

Marshall would hold on to its two-goal advantage for the majority of the third period, as Waseca continued to attack the net but couldn’t get a shot in. With just over three minutes left in the game, though, the Bluejays found an opening and scored, cutting the deficit to just one at 2-1.

As the clock continued to wind down, the Tigers were able to keep Waseca from striking again, as the Bluejays still were in search of an equalizer. Instead, Marshall attacked the Bluejays’ zone and found the back of the net one final time, with Landon Frost pushing a shot past the Waseca goaltender on another assist from Plante with 1:17 remaining to give the Tigers a 3-1 cushion and ultimately a victory.

Plante’s final assist of the night was also a special one. The Marshall senior was able to reach 200 total points for his career, a goal he had set out for himself before the season.

“I was told at the beginning of the year that this was kind of out of my reach and it was kind of my goal this year to get to 200 and it feels really good,” Plante said.

Marshall outshot Waseca 33-24 on the game. Dominik Caspers earned the victory in net, stopping 23 shots.

Marshall (21-2-1) will begin its Section 3A tournament play on Thursday when they face the winner of Willmar/Worthington at 7 p.m. at the Red Baron Arena and Expo. Weiss said their biggest takeaway going into the postseason is to make sure they’re ready to go from the start and play their style of hockey.

“We just need to make sure mentally and physically we’re ready to go and ready to play our game and just take it one game at a time,” Weiss said.

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