Marshall goalie McCoy Guenther prepares to deflect a shot during the third period of a prep boys hockey game against Fergus Falls on Saturday at Red Baron Arena in Marshall.

MARSHALL — A strong start to the first period of its season opener wasn’t enough to get the Marshall boys hockey team a win on Saturday when it hosted Fergus Falls at Red Baron Arena. The Tigers created consistent pressure and kept the visitors out of the scoring area early on, but the Otters scored five second-period goals to turn the tide to claim a 7-2 win.

Marshall held the Otters without a shot on goal for the game’s first eight-and-a-half minutes, with a block from Nate Drown also helping the Tigers overcome a hooking penalty over the stretch. Marshall was responsible for nine of the first 10 shots on goal in the game.

“We had really good energy and were really just working well together and feeding off each other,” Marshall head coach Michael Weiss said. “We were getting some great looks, just couldn’t bury one. It would have been nice to get the first one, for sure, but we definitely showed how good we can be in the first period.”

Fergus Falls went on the power play after Easton Greenwood was called for an elbowing penalty, and capitalized when Quinn Wynn-Sheldon kicked the puck out to Tanner Donaghue at the back edge of the faceoff circle for a wrister into the top shelf.

Just a minute later, Marshall goalie saved a shot from Wynn Sheldon with his pad, but Huner Welle was right there to tap in the rebound for a 2-0 lead with a minute left in the first period.

While Marshall looked strong in the first period, the Otters pulled away in the second. Fergus Falls scored three goals in the first seven minutes of the middle stanza and added another two in the final two minutes to enter the third period with a 7-1 lead and running clock on their side.

Nate Drown gave Marshall its first goal of the season 11 minutes into the second period, capitalizing off an assist from Carson Kopitski and Morgan Rokeh to cut the deficit to 5-1.

Guenther finished the day between the posts with 19 saves on 26 shots faced, while Holden Stenstrom recorded 14 saves on 15 shots for the Otters. Marshall outshot the Otters 10-4 in the first period but was outshot 18-6 for the remainder of the day.

Wynn Sheldon finished the day with a team-leading 3 points on two assists and a goal. Luke Johnson also had a pair of goals while Corban Proffitt recorded a pair of assists.

Growing pains were inevitable for a Tigers team that graduated all of its top-four point scorers last season, though they field a younger team this year with plenty of time for growth.

“We’ve just got to keep gelling together as a group and we’ll find guys who are going to score goals,” Weiss said. “Just staying together as a group and just keep improving together every day.”

Friday’s loss is just the first game of the season, Weiss added, so Marshall will look to learn from its loss after showing glimpses of its potential early on.

Marshall falls to 0-1 on the season with the loss and looks to bounce back when it hosts Redwood Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m.