Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall forward Brenden Price (17) handles the puck on a fast break during the second period of a Big South Conference boys hockey game against Luverne at Red Baron Arena in Marshall on Tuesday.

MARSHALL — The first-place Luverne boys hockey team was too much for the Marshall Tigers to handle in Big South Conference play on Tuesday. The Tigers put together an improved performance compared to their last matchup against the Cardinals, but still fell 5-1.

“We didn’t get pucks on the net, but we were definitely playing a lot harder and physical against them, and we were winning more races,” Marshall forward Nate Drown said. “We need to get more shots, that really would have helped us, but we were definitely passing the puck more and were happy with how we did against them compared to last game.”

Marshall held Luverne without a shot on goal in the game’s first three-and-a-half minutes, and limited the Cardinals to 11 shots on goal in the first period. Still, Luverne capitalized on its first shot of the day when Maddux Domagala tapped in a rebound from Kale Ver Steeg for the lead. He also scored a shorthanded goal after Luverne was called for a tripping minor, going coast-to-coast for a 2-0 Luverne lead.

Luverne outshot Marshall 41-14 in Tuesday’s game, compared to a 74-14 margin when Luverne defeated Marshall 3-0 earlier in the year despite a 52-save night from McCoy Guenther. Even beyond the numbers, Marshall was consistently able to get the puck into good scoring zones on Tuesday and minimize the cardinals’ easy looks.

“We were just getting everything figured out [last time], and now we’ve got plans for our positioning better and playing the body more,” Drown said. “We’re actually playing them, which is helping us stop them from getting in the zone, and we’re making sure that we’re getting pucks out.”

Marshall scored its lone goal of the game with three minutes to play in the second period. Tate Mellenthin fired off a shot from the point and, after the shot was blocked, Easton Jiskoot recovered the rebound to cut the deficit to 4-1.

Any hope of a Tiger comeback quickly faded when Landyn Lais broke away for a goal 45 seconds later. Marshall held the Cardinals scoreless for the remainder of the second and the entirety of the third period, but couldn’t muster the offense to respond.

Will Bergman started the second period with Luverne’s second shorthanded goal of the night, sniping a shot into the top shelf. He also capitalized on a centering feed from Colton Haubrich to knock in another goal from the slot five minutes later, making the score 4-0 halfway through the second period.

Marshall and Luverne got into a scrum at the end of the second period, culminating in five concurrent roughing majors to start the third period. Luverne spent 22 minutes in the penalty box on the day while Marshall spent 14.

Guenther saved 35 of 41 shots faced in goal for Marshall on Tuesday while Gavin Hoven saved 13 of 14 for Luverne.

Good to be home

The Tigers haven’t spent much time at Red Baron Arena for games this year, hosting just seven games to date this season. That’ll change drastically down the stretch, as Tuesday’s matchup marked the first of six consecutive home games to close the year.

“It’s a lot nicer not having to go on road trips constantly, and it’s really nice to be able to stay here and have a set routine … instead of having long bus rides, not getting active and sitting for too long,” Drown said. “Bus legs, we call it. But yeah, this just gets us more ready and more active.”

Up next

Marshall falls to 5-15-0 (4-7-0 BSC) on the year and next hosts Redwood Valley (4-14-0, 3-9-0 BSC) on Thursday at 7 p.m.