Renslow, Larsen help Marshall snap losing skid over Trojans, 7-1

Photo by Samantha Davis. Marshall's Owen Renslow scores his first goal of the night while stick handling the puck in the second period against Worthington Tuesday night at the Red Baron Arena in Marshall. Renslow finished with two goals in the Tigers' 7-1 win.
MARSHALL — Owen Renslow and Easton Larsen each netted a pair of goals for the Marshall boys hockey team in a 7-1 win over Worthington in a Big South Conference matchup, ending a five-game losing streak. A three-goal second and third period separated the Tigers and Trojans.
“We played pretty good, it was indicative by the score, but we were pretty forthcoming with the boys after the first period,” Marshall assistant coach Daniel Schipper said. “They played well the second two periods, played as a team, took the body and worked hard.”
The game was tied 1-1 after the first period, and it wasn’t until five minutes into the second when Marshall began to find its rhythm. The Tigers put away three goals, two which came from Renslow, to create some offensive spark to motivate them the rest of the way.
Marshall outshot Worthington 45-18 overall on shots on goal attempts.
Along with Renslow and Larsen, Aiden Reinhart, Tyler Welsh and Riley Pfannschmidt each scored goals. Jacob Allen had a team-high two assists.
Nathan Lenz guarded Marshall’s net and finished with a .944 saving percentage, allowing in just one of the Trojans’ 18 attempts.
Marshall appeared more aggressive offensively coming out of the first intermission. It spent a majority of the second period in Worthington’s attacking zone and was able to create a 4-1 lead with a pair of goals from Renslow. The Tigers had 18 shots on goal to Worthington’s five.
“We didn’t think we were playing as a team, some of the guys were doing a little bit too much individual work. I think they got the memo when [head] coach [Michael] Weiss let them know we wanted to play a little bit more together and as a team,” Schipper said regarding the team’s momentum shift after the first period. “I think it showed quite a bit there in the second two periods.”
After a handful of close calls, Renslow found the puck and took it himself short handed
with the Trojans’ goalie. After a few stick handling moves closing it, he nailed the puck in once he arrived at the crease.
Six minutes later, Renslow wrapped around the back of the net to receive the puck from Carson Kopitski and tapped it in to put Marshall up two goals.
“Owen brings his effort every night. He got some payoffs tonight around the net and had a couple goals, as well as moving the puck to his teammates,” Schipper said.
Blake Grimsley found Tate Mellenthin in transition who handed the puck off to Larsen making his way around the net to score another goal for the Tigers with just under four minutes to go in the second period.
“Easton, it was his first game back from an injury. We’re excited to have him and he’s an impact player up front for us,” Schipper said.
Both teams were evenly matched throughout the first period on both ends of the rink. Marshall had 12 shots on goal and limited Worthington to seven through the first 17 minutes.
However, the Trojans got on the score board first after netting in a goal in the 12th minute.
Marshall made sure to quickly get on the right side of things to tie the game up 1-1 two minutes later when Pfannschmidt, Nate Drown and Brenden Weller got the puck back on offense and made their way up the rink.
Drown fed the puck up to Weller, who found Pfannschmidt across the rink who hit a hard shot from the left faceoff circle into a small pocket in the upper left corner of the net on even strength.
“I thought we were a little lazy getting up the ice [on defense] in the first. They gave us some good scoring changes in our zone, but that’s something we have to get straight after,” Schipper said. “The guys started working a little harder to get up the ice, so overall, it was a good effort on [defense].”
Both Worthington and Marshall were assessed a minor penalty in the first period for interference and a roughing call on Tate Mellenthin.
The final period was much like the second but with less pressure as Marshall had its lead built up, yet Marshall scored another three to limit any chance of a Worthington comeback.
Right out of the second intermission, Welsh received the puck from Renslow 43 seconds in for a goal.
After about seven scoreless minutes, Larsen was 3-on-1 between himself, Worthington’s goalie and two defenders, but found a way to tap the puck into the lower right corner of the net while in the crease.
Reinhart got the night’s final goal after Larsen sent the puck to Allen, who found Reinhart closing into the net.
There were six minor penalties assessed throughout the night, three on each time. All goals were scored on even strength, aside from Renslow’s first of the night.
Prior to Tuesday, Marshall’s last win came on Dec. 16 with a 9-2 defeat over Redwood Valley.
Marshall (5-10-0, 3-4 BSC) will look to keep its momentum going when it next travels to New Ulm (5-6-0, 3-2 BSC) on Thursday at 7 p.m.
“Hopefully we bring the same energy we did in the second and third period tonight,” Schipper said. “All year, I don’t think we’ve been focused mentally as well as physically for all three periods. So hopefully, we can carry over what we did tonight into that game to be ready to go.”