“It feels really good. I think we deserve it, and that we’ve been working hard for it … We were able to catch a lot of passes, make good passes and capitalize on the plays that we got opportunities to,” DeMuth said. “I think this year, we really just wanted to take it to them and not give them any room, and just work harder than we did last year to prepare for them.”

Marshall and Luverne have met in the past two section championships, with the Tigers getting revenge on the Cardinals last season 5-2 to earn a state berth, the last time the two met prior to Thursday, after Luverne defeated Marshall in 2024’s championship 4-0. Luverne also won the section in 2021 and 2023.

“It’s really preparing us, because last year we didn’t have the toughest schedule, and then once we got later on in the season, it was kind of hard to take back up the pace to play with better teams,” DeMuth said of facing tough competition early in the season. “It’s preparing us for later on.”

Lily Stelter spent the night in the net with a .950 save percentage, as Marshall outshot Luverne 45-20. Mauch had a pair of goals along with three assists, while Foley followed with a goal of her own and a trio of assists. DeMuth scored two of her three goals in the second period to propel the Tigers forward.

Abbey Foley and Peyton DeMuth hug after DeMuth scored a goal in the second period.

“We’re so confident in these girls and they’re so confident in each other that if they go out and play their game and work, we feel like we’re going to compete with anyone,” Marshall assistant coach Chris Foley said. “Obviously, being Luverne, they’ve probably had the better of us over the past five, six, seven years, so, that gives us a little bit extra nudge to go out and work really hard.”

Foley and Mauch each accounted for 2 points in the opening period, both scoring a goal and assisting for one another.

Foley was the first Tiger to find the back of the net 1:35 into the game on event strength after breaking through in a cluster of Luverne defenders with a feed from Mauch.

Just three minutes later, Marshall took a quick 2-0 lead on the night on a power play after the Cardinals’ Tenley Behr was called for hooking as Foley found Mauch in return up the right side of the rink.

“That first period, we were winning all the races. We had all of our sticks on the pucks,” coach Foley said. “We knew going into the second, if we continue to do that, that we’re going to break pucks free and get pucks to the net.”

Marshall goalie Lily Stelter protects the net.

Stelter went 5-for-5 on saves in the first period, as Marshall outshot Luverne with 14 attempts.

“I think we just needed to come out even harder, not give them [Luverne] any room, not give them any offensive time and play good defense,” DeMuth said.

The Cardinals had a string of good looks in the beginning minutes of the second period, and got on the board just over 12 minutes in on a breakaway.

But, DeMuth scored her pair of goals to keep the Tigers in front comfortably.

DeMuth’s first goal was assisted by both Foley and Mauch at the 4:35 mark, and had a quick response to Luverne’s goal with nearly 50 seconds left in the period after stickhandling just inside the crease before turning the corner around the net, giving Marshall a 4-1 lead. Mauch and Ava Kolander assisted on the goal.

Senior Abbey Foley skates down the rink after scoring a goal in the first period.

Throughout the third, Stelter continued to be locked in on protection of the net as the Cardinals continued to get a few more shots off, but Marshall did just the same and made a habit to hold possession for a majority of the way to finish the night off.

“Our defense is really good,” DeMuth said. “We make sure to clear bodies out in front of the net and not give them any chance and go to our points to block shots.”

“They’re [defense] getting better every day. They’re giving up less than 15 shots a game, and when you do that, and you get such a strong goalie behind them, you’re not going to give up a lot of goals,” coach Foley added.

Mauch and DeMuth put the dagger on the victory, with Mauch taking the punk to the net herself unassisted just under five minutes into the final period before DeMuth secured her hat trick with 1:30 left on a power play.

“In the first period, I think she [DeMuth] won every single race to every single puck. She gets a couple breaks, and it just didn’t fall for her, and [assistant] coach Derek [Smith] and I talked to her and said, ‘Just loosen up, have a little fun with this,'” coach Foley said of DeMuth’s performance. “She just does what she does. She works so hard all the time, that to see her get paid off is just awesome.”

Brooklyn Mauch stickhandles her way up the rink in the first period.

Luverne entered Thursday 3-3 overall on the early start to the season, but has faced a tough schedule with two of its losses coming by one goal to Albert Lea, who is also Marshall’s lone loss, and to Minnesota River, another Big South top competitor.

“I think we are starting really strong,” DeMuth said. “In practice, we’ve been skating a lot to help us get into the third period and stay strong.”

Marshall (9-1) will next take on South Central (0-7) on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Waseca Community Arena before returning back home to host New Ulm on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. puck drop.

“I think we’re on kind of the same pace that we really thought we’d be on, or if we play the way we play, that we would be here,” coach Foley said of the team’s strong start to the season. “We’re pretty confident in these girls, and they’re confident in themselves. They’re best friends, so fun for them to just come to the rink together.”