Photo by Sam Thiel Marshall’s Olivia Peterson (3) celebrates with teammate Sydney Mauch after scoring a goal during their game against Waseca on Friday. The Tigers defeated the Bluejays 4-0.

MARSHALL – The Marshall girls hockey team wanted to make sure its senior class went out on a high note in their final regular season home game. The veteran leaders agreed and just like they have been all year long, they helped lead the Tigers to victory.

Thanks to a pair of goals from Olivia Peterson and one apiece from Kaitlyn Timm and Leah Schaefer, Marshall bounced back into the win column with a 4-0 shutout over Waseca on Senior Night on Friday at the Red Baron Arena and Expo.

After a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Luverne on Thursday, the Tigers couldn’t get out to the quick start it had, as Waseca controlled the puck in the early stages of the first period. Marshall would get a strong opportunity after the Bluejays committed a penalty, but the Tigers couldn’t capitalize and the game would remain scoreless after one.

Marshall coach Cassi Weiss felt they were trying to do a little too much in the first period and wanted the team to get back to playing their style of hockey.

“We kind of talked about how we were trying to be a little too fancy in the first period,” Weiss said. “We just kind of got back to our roots and played our game and started passing the puck and getting pucks to the net and it really worked.”

Going into the second, both teams looked to get out to a better start in their respective offensive zones. Marshall would strike on that chance, as Peterson broke the scoreless tie on the assist from Sydney Mauch with 13:57 left to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, Marshall earned another power play opportunity when Waseca was called for a tripping penalty. The Tigers quickly took advantage, with Timm finding the back of the net on the assist from Logan Sherman and Peterson to push Marshall’s lead to 2-0 with 9:22 left.

The Tigers wasted little time to start the third, as Marshall still had 46 seconds left of a power play that closed the second period. Marshall quickly worked its way down the ice and, just as Waseca was about to get back to full strength, Peterson found a wide open shot at the net, scoring off the assist from Sherman and Mauch to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

Marshall wasn’t done there, as Schaefer found herself with a breakaway opportunity a few minutes later. Schaefer made a quick move and fired the puck right past the Bluejays goaltender, pushing the Tigers to the 4-0 final.

Weiss said their key on offense was their ability to capitalize on rebound opportunities, something they struggled with against Luverne on Thursday.

“We crashed the net really hard and we were able to get those rebounds to the back of the net. That was something that we struggled with on Thursday in our game with Luverne, there were rebounds and we just couldn’t slam them home,” Weiss said. “So they did a good job of making sure their sticks were on the ice and they could get them and put them in the back of the net.”

Marshall outshot Waseca 28-19 on the game. Emma Klenken earned the victory in net, stopping all 19 shots she faced.

“She just does a great job of being there in a game like this where she sees 19 shots, they might not be the hardest shots, but she’s there to save them,” Weiss said. “Then she does have some big saves as well, (Waseca) had a couple of breakaways that she angles herself perfectly so she makes it looks really easy. We’re lucky to have her.”

After the game, the team played a video thanking the senior class. This year, the Tigers have six seniors on their roster, including Peterson, Mauch, Jadyn Briffett, KC Boerboom, Samantha Ariasola and Maddy Penske.

Weiss said they’ve been great leaders to the program and have done an excellent job of stepping into their roles this season.

“They’ve been great; they’ve been around on the varsity team since they were in eighth grade and not all of them have gotten to play until the last two, some of them the last three years,” Weiss said. “Some of the them it’s their first year. They’ve really done a great job of stepping up and being those power players that we really needed.”

Marshall (16-5-3) will close out the regular season on Tuesday against Willmar at 7 p.m. Weiss said their biggest takeaway is they need to make sure they play their game all three periods as they prepare for the postseason.

“We just need to make sure that we’re playing all three periods and we’re playing our game all three periods,” Weiss said. “With sections, you can’t take any time off and we need to realize that now.”

Marshall 4, Waseca 0

Waseca 0 0 0 – 0

Marshall 0 2 2 – 4

First Period

SCORING

No scoring.

PENALTIES

Waseca: Pederson, 7:20 (Body Checking, 2 min).

Marshall: Ariasola, 12:18 (Tripping, 2 min).

Second Period

SCORING

Marshall: Peterson, 3:03 (Mauch).

Marshall: Timm, 7:38 (power play) (Sherman, Peterson).

PENALTIES

Marshall: Ormberg, 4:57 (Interference, 2 min).

Waseca: Miller, 5:50 (Tripping, 2 min).

Marshall: Sherman, 8:12 (Tripping, 2 min).

Waseca: Holtz, 15:46 (Tripping, 2 min).

Third Period

SCORING

Marshall: Peterson, 0:46 (power play) (Sherman, Mauch).

Marshall: Schaefer, 5:18 (unassisted).

PENALTIES

No penalties.

SHOTS ON GOAL: Marshall 28; Waseca 19.

SAVES: Marshall 19; Waseca 24.