Photo courtesy of Photoworks Pictured is the 2020-21 Marshall girls hockey team.

MARSHALL — Last season, the Marshall girls hockey team battled through an up-and-down year, posting a record of 12-13-1. This year, Marshall bounced back to its winning ways, going 11-7 and reaching the Section 3A semifinals before falling to Mankato East.

Marshall coach Cassi Weiss said they formed a close bond with each other early on and it showed in their success on and off the ice.

“Overall, I felt this season we were able to connect as a group a bit more which showed on the ice,” Weiss said. “Our older girls had a big impact on the younger girls and we were able to improve more than we thought we could with a shortened season.” 

Marshall started the season on a strong note, particularly from the offensive end, winning a pair of games against Waseca and scoring 21 combined goals in two shutouts. MHS then dropped its next two games, but bounced back with four straight victories against Fairmont and Windom Area in early February. Marshall would piece together four strong victories, including a 2-1 win against Minnesota River on March 2 and shutouts against Prairie Centre on Feb. 23 and Worthington on March 12, but also dropped a handful of games to close the regular season.

In the Section 3A tournament, Marshall opened postseason play against Mankato West and overcame a 2-1 deficit in the second period to earn a 4-3 victory and advance to the semifinals. But Marshall couldn’t maintain its momentum, and fell to Mankato East 5-1 to end the season.

Marshall graduates four seniors on this year’s roster. They are: Emmy Barker, Olivia Macchio, Kaitlyn Timm and Emma Klenken. Timm and Klenken were also able to reach milestones in their careers, with Timm recording her 100th point during a game against Fairmont on Feb. 9 while Klenken earned her 50th victory in net in a 2-1 win over Windom Area on Feb. 15.

Weiss said this year’s seniors showed a lot of experience and leadership early on in their careers and they developed those skills throughout the years.

“Our seniors were able to provide leadership, and experience at a very young age, which made them even more experienced and better leaders by the time they were seniors,” Weiss said.

Marshall returns a strong core of players, led by current juniors Shelby Ormberg, Leah Schaefer and Tessa Gannott along with current sophomores Kalyn DeVlieger and Regan Loft. MHS will also have a key group of youth, including current freshman Lily Verkinderen and Olivia Penske and current eighth-graders Mia Whichmann, Kendal Beernaert, Aubree Metheny and Belle Deutz.