Photo by Samantha Davis. Marshall's Olivia DeGroot (left) hugs Ava Kolander after DeGroot scored in the second period against Pine City in the Thanksgiving Classic championship. The Tigers defeated the Dragons 7-4.

MARSHALL — Following a hat trick performance from Brooklyn Mauch and an overall well-balanced offensive effort, the Marshall girls hockey team are Thanksgiving Classic Tournament champions after taking down Pine City 7-4 Saturday afternoon in a physical game.

“We just really wanted to, again, focus on our game and play our game for all three periods,” Marshall head coach Cassi Weiss said. “I think we move the puck really well and we utilize our speed on the outside.”

The Dragons, who entered the day 5-2 overall, got a spot in the championship after defeating Waconia on Friday in the first day of the tournament. The Tigers beat Hopkins Park 6-1 to do the same.

Marshall racked up a hefty 50 shots on goals and limited the Dragons to 19. The Tigers scored three goals in both the first and second period to power the victory.

In addition to Mauch’s three, Peyton DeMuth added two more goals. Both Abigail Foley and Mauch led the team with two assists each.

Lily Stelter guarded the net for the Tigers, and finished with a .789 save percentage on the day.

Several players got involved in the offensive action in the first period for the Tigers, who built a 3-1 lead going into the first intermission. Aubree Metheny, DeMuth and Mauch all scored a goal, with assists from Avery Kesteloot, Foley and Ava Kolander.

The game right away proved it was bound to be a physical one, with players aggressively checking one another to win the puck back on defense.

“Luckily, we’ve played some teams where we see that physicality. So, we’ve been able to determine physicality versus being cheap,” Weiss said. “The girls do a really good job of just being physical, and getting our body on the player without getting penalties.”

The Dragons scored a goal on their first shot attempt just over three minutes into the game.

The goal sparked urgency for Marshall, as Kesteloot fed the puck to an open Metheny who scored to immediately tie the game up 1-1 two minutes later.

“We haven’t gotten scored on first very much this season,” Weiss said. “It was a little bit of a jump start for the team … To start figuring stuff out.”

Nearly a minute later, Kolander passed it up to Foley who joined DeMuth in skating up the rink in a 2-on-1 offense.

Foley released the puck to DeMuth, closing in on Pine City’s goalie and passing the last defender, then safely landed the puck in the back left of the net.

Marshall went on to grab one more goal that came from Mauch at the 9:29 mark.

The Tigers had 14 first period shots on goal attempts to Pine City’s three.

Marshall showed no signs of slowing down in the second period. The Dragons were able to score a goal, but it didn’t pose a threat to the Tigers three more.

Olivia DeGroot got the action started with a deep shot just inside of Pine City’s defensive zone, and the puck flew flawlessly into the net. The goal urged impressive responses from the crowd.

Mauch scored two more goals following, to solidify her hat trick performance. The first came off a feed from Foley and the second one, she took the puck up the ice herself unassisted.

Marshall got one more goal during the third period as Mauch and DeMuth broke into a fast break, and Mauch fed the puck from behind the net to DeMuth, who scored down the middle 1-on-1 with the goalie.

Pipe City responded with two more goals, one of which came in the final five seconds of the game. But, Marshall created enough of a lead to seal the game.

“We were getting super bunched up or congested in all three zones,” Weiss said in regards to what the team has to improve upon.

The tournament hosted a total of four teams, all of which were guaranteed two games to place first through fourth.

Marshall, continuing its 8-0 perfect start to the season, will return to the ice on Tuesday when it hosts Luverne at 7 p.m. at the Red Baron Arena.

“We need to take a really good rest day tomorrow,” Weiss said. “Then, come out ready to work and get ready for Luverne on Tuesday.”