Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall captain Abbey Foley fires off a point blast during the second period of a prep girls hockey game against Shakopee on Friday at Red Baron Arena in Marshall. Foley finished with three assists as the Tigers claimed a 5-1 win to open their Thanksgiving tournament.

MARSHALL — Abbey Foley and Brooklyn Mauch each notched 3 points for the No. 6 Marshall girls hockey team and the defense and goaltending took care of the rest when the Tigers opened up their Thanksgiving tournament on Friday. The Tigers more than doubled Shakopee’s shots on goal in the game as Marshall claimed a 5-1 win.

Peyton DeMuth scored what would be the game-winning goal just over halfway through the first period, capitalizing off an assist from Foley and Mauch to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Marshall went on to outshoot the Sabers 21-3 in the period.

“We haven’t been able to put together three periods, so we really wanted to come out and make sure the first was setting us up for success,” Marshall head coach Cassi Weiss said of the team’s first-period intensity. “The puck is ours. Every time there’s an opportunity, we’re going to get it. We were just really pesky in all zones, which resulted in a good defensive zone.”

Lily Stelter posted another solid day between the pipes for Marshall, saving 18 of the 19 shots she faced for a .947 save percentage. Through six starts, Stelter has allowed more than one goal just twice — including a pair of shutouts — and has compiled a .923 save percentage.

In Marshall’s first seven games of the season, Foley has already racked up a team-leading 17 assists, double the next closest player. Her trio of apples gave her a total of 18 points this season, trailing only Mauch’s 24.

“It’s a lot easier knowing that, when I do pass it to my teammates, they’re going to catch it and they’re going to capitalize off it,” Foley said. “We’ve also been working with each other for so long that we know where each other are, and it makes it a lot easier to set those plays up.”

Marshall had four different players find the back of the net in Friday’s win, with Nora Holmgren scoring her first goal of the season on an assist from Elsie Deutz and Avery Kesteloot with four minutes remaining in the game.

“I think a lot of people think we’re a one-man team, and that’s just not true,” Weiss said. “If you look at our stats, almost every player on the ice has a point or a goal. I think we’re able to surprise teams a lot that not just our first line or our best player is putting points up, but our second line is putting points up too.”

The Tigers continued to pile on in the second period when Brooklyn Mauch finished off an assist from Foley for a 2-0 lead three minutes into the period. Morgan Berg answered with a goal for the Sabers four-and-a-half minutes later, tightening it back up to a one-goal game, but Elsie Deutz was able to push a puck through traffic into the back of the net in the waning minutes of the period to give Marshall a 3-1 lead.

Marshall finished the night outshooting Shakopee 51-19, even while letting up in the third period with an 8-3 shots-on-goal edge. The Tigers also played clean hockey to keep their lead intact, finishing the game without a penalty while going on the power play five times after Shakopee was called for two-minute minors.

Mauch gave Marshall an extra bit of cushion a minute before Holmgren’s goal in the third period, finishing a feed from Foley and Ava Kolander to bring the score to 4-1.

The win brings Marshall to 6-1 on the season, giving Marshall another hot start after it went undefeated through its first 16 games last year with wins in its first 14. The Tigers’ lone loss so far this season came against No. 5 Albert Lea, which scored a pair of third-period goals for a 4-3 win over Marshall. Despite the strong start, however, Marshall isn’t taking anything for granted.

“It feels really good, but we have to keep the mindset that, yeah, we’re winning now, but we still have to keep working hard,” Foley said. “It’s not going to be easy.”

In goal for the Sabers, Liv Toczek saved 46 of the 51 shots she faced for a .902 save percentage.

Mauch’s milestones

Brooklyn Mauch scored her 100th career goal over the weekend and picked up her 165th career point on Friday after contributing two goals and an assist. The total moves her past her older sister, 2019 graduate Sydney Mauch’s, career total of 164. Sydney played 118 games over the course of her varsity career while Brooklyn, in her junior season, has played 90 so far.

Up next

Marshall, now 6-1 on the year, will host Pine City Area for the tournament finale Saturday at 11 a.m. After losing its first three games of the season, Pine City has won three in a row heading into Saturday’s game.