Photo by Samantha Davis: Marshall senior forward Koda Peterson begins to take a shot in the first period against Austin Friday night in Marshall at the Red Baron Arena in a non-conference prep boys hockey game. The Tigers fell to the Packers 3-1 behind a two-goal third period.

MARSHALL — Although entering the final period in a tie, the Marshall boys hockey team came up short in a 3-1 non-conference loss to Austin Friday night after the Packers scored twice in the final period. Jacob Allen scored the game-tying goal in the second period after Austin was the first to get on the board with a goal in the opening period.

“We were just holding each other accountable,” Marshall senior forward Carson Kopitski said of the game’s competitiveness. “We were working hard in the corners. We just try to support each other as much as we can, and get pucks in the net. It just didn’t go our way.”

The Packers outshot the Tigers 33-18 overall, as McCoy Guenther finished the night with another impressive performance of 30 saves on with a .909 save percentage.

The Packers entered Friday looking for their fourth-straight win after a five-game skid.

Friday was the second game of a back-to-back for the Tigers, who defeated Redwood Valley 4-1 on Thursday. Kopitski, Allen, Easton Greenwood and Easton Jiskoot all scored in the victory, while Kirby Meulebroeck got the win in the net with 10 saves.

The Tigers and Packers were tied 1-1 entering the final period, after Allen’s game-tying goal came midway through the second period.

As the game’s trend was showing, Marshall and Austin kept one another in check the entire night and fought competitively on both ends of the ice.

“The message in the intermission [before the third period] was to come out and win that third period,” Kopitski said. “To keep working hard in the corner and to keep hitting. We weren’t physical enough during the game, we just wanted to keep hitting. [We had] to keep pressure on them.”

The Packers were assessed a 10 minute misconduct call on for fighting, opening up a power play opportunity for the Tigers.

Marshall had a handful of good looks, but Austin was able to find the net first in the fourth minute to take back a 2-1 lead.

The Tigers were ultimately unable to capitalize while the Packers were shorthanded during the penalty, continuing to get shots off but not past Tait Johnson in the goal.

Austin ultimately put the dagger on the win with a final goal with about two minutes left to play, limiting Marshall’s chances of tying the score up once more.

“I thought we worked hard and battled against adversity when they [Austin] scored on us,” Kopitski said. “We came back and tied it up, we just didn’t have enough to finish it off.”

Both Guenther and Johnson showed out early in a back-and-forth opening period between Marshall and the Packers.

Although Austin scored in the first minute to take a fast 1-0 lead, both teams fed off one another offensively as the Packers slightly outshot the Tigers 7-6 in the first period.

The Tigers came out and rattled off three shot attempts within the first minute before Austin’s goal, showing offensive pressure from the jump.

The Packers returned the favor as time went on and both teams settled in.

Marshall and Austin held one another off defensively to build up the competitive atmosphere, continuing to interrupt passing lanes while also showing physicality.

Allen found the back of the net to tie the score up 1-1 in the seventh minute of the second period, after crowding toward the crease with support around him. Jiskoot and Greenwood both assisted on the score.

Marshall’s attack was contagious throughout the period, with several good looks coming after Allen’s goal, that fell short to Johnson’s blocking.

Much of the same pace from the opening period carried over into the second.

Koda Peterson nearly had a goal immediately after Allen’s going 1-on-1 with Austin’s goalie, as Kopitski did the same later in the period.

Marshall is looking to continue on gathering some momentum as regular season nears an end. The Tigers also won two of their last four games heading into the matchup with Austin.

“We have three practices straight, so we’re going to try and work hard and work on our systems,” Kopitski said. “Obviously, keep working hard, pushing each other, and hopefully a better outcome next week for us.”

The Tigers move to 6-16 on the season, and will have a few days off from gameplay before returning back to the Red Baron Arena to host Worthington (2-19) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Marshall is in the midst of a six-game hometand to end the regular season, which is slated for Feb. 7 against Waseca.