“It feels great. We know that we have to go step by step, we can’t get too ahead of ourselves. So, it’s good that we’re done with our first win,” senior forward Abbey Foley said. “We know that we can never retaliate or anything. We have to just take it, and we have to fight through it.”

Marshall had two century-milestone accomplishments reached in the win. Brooklyn Mauch earned her 100th point of the season with a goal in the first period, with Foley assisting on it for her 100th career assist.

“It’s super exciting. I remember when I was an eighth grader, I had my journal and I wrote down 100 assists. That was my goal to get in my career,” Foley said. “It felt really nice to get that tonight … It was good to get it with Brooklyn [Mauch].”

Lily Stelter finished the day with nine saves for a .900 save percentage. Marshall outshot the Eagles 42-10.

The Marshall girls hockey team celebrates with one another after winning the Section 3A semifinals Saturday afternoon against New Ulm.

Mauch recorded another hat trick along with an assist, and Foley led the Tigers with a trio of assists. Avery Kesteloot also had two assists.

Saturday’s semifinals against New Ulm was a repeat of last season as well, where Marshall defeated the Eagles 2-1 behind Foley’s two power-play goals in the second period.

The Eagles took down No. 5 Worthington 8-0 in the quarterfinals on Thursday to come to face the Tigers, capitalizing on a four-goal third period.

Marshall and New Ulm battled off one another on both ends of the rink in the opening period, and went into the first intermission with the Tigers hanging on to a 2-1 edge.

“One thing that we always have to fall back on is our speed. Sometimes you fight the puck, every team does it, sometimes you just can’t complete those passes, your stickhandling might be a little off, but one thing that we can always fall back on is playing fast. The girls work so hard,” Marshall assistant coach Derek Smith said. “The first five minutes or so kind of felt like maybe we were fighting a little bit, maybe a little bit of nerves, and that’s going to happen. No matter how many times you play in a big game, those nerves can always still kind of be there. But for us, [we] just buckle down. Keeping it simple is a big thing and just go to work.”

Marshall's Abbey Foley brings the puck up the rink in the second period against New Ulm on Saturday in the Section 3A semifinals.

Elsie Deutz got Marshall on the board first, electrifying the large home crowd, scoring at 5:37 stationed just outside of the right side of the crease as Kesteloot fed the puck from the opposite side for Deutz to send to the back of the net.

Mauch and Foley partnered together to reach both of their milestones three minutes later.

After Marshall stole the puck back on defense, Peyton DeMuth got it to Foley who found an open Mauch to finish the play and put the Tigers up 2-0.

New Ulm turned the dial up offensively, and brought the score back within a goal after Jersey Haugen got the puck to Tristyn Wolner who brought it around the backside of the goal, wrapped around and scored in the corner in the 11th minute.

Yet, the Tigers honed in on its defense and speed to match its offensive power in the second period to score another two goals while keeping New Ulm scoreless, building a 4-1 lead by the end.

The Marshall girls hockey team hi-fives Brooklyn Mauch (center) after scoring a goal in the first period on Saturday in the Section 3A semifinals.

“Passing it [the puck] up to our defense, and working it around a lot,” Foley said regarding what worked well for Marshall in the win. “Then, we just had to keep shooting.”

Mauch scored her second goal of the night 40 seconds into the period unassisted after taking the puck up the rink herself once taking it back on defense.

The physicalility between the Tigers and Eagles also took a jump up in the second period. There were seven penalties assessed during the game, four going to Marshall. All were minor.

Foley and Mauch connected once again on a power play at the 8:42 mark.

Foley fought hard to get the puck back in Marshall’s possession while in New Ulm territory, taking on two defenders by the goal, and eventually pushed it out to Mauch for the score.

Marshall's Peyton DeMuth moves the puck up on offense on Saturday against New Ulm.

The Tigers ultimately kept much of the same pace and tempo throughout the third period to finish the job.

Brianna Foley got in on the scoring action in the second minute with a shot into the goal after the puck flew a bit in the air after bouncing off the goalie.

Mauch and Lucie Pearson then put the dagger on the win with another goal each as time went on, with Pearson’s coming in the final minute, as Marshall huddled and celebrated together down in its net with Stelter at the final buzzer.

“It’s a new season when we get to the playoffs. Everyone’s 0-0 when you get to the playoffs, it doesn’t matter what happened earlier in the year, nothing like that,” Smith said. “It’s just making sure that we’re playing our best hockey at the right time, and stepping out and shaking those nerves off. Get the first goal and onto that next step … We’ve got a goal as a team, we know where we want to get to, and this is just checking one of those boxes.”

Saturday was also the final time playing at the Red Baron Arena for Marshall’s two seniors in Abbey Foley and Kesteloot, to which Foley commented as an emotional moment, but happy with how the game went.

Marshall's Brielle Felton Krog looks ahead to make a pass on Saturday in the Section 3A semifinals against New Ulm.

Abbey Foley has also sung the national anthem at a handful of the Tigers’ recent home games, and was cheered on by her teammates following the performance each time.

Running it back

The Tigers are on a quest to head back to the Class A State Tournament after they made the appearance last season for the first time since 2018, finishing in sixth place after playing in the consolation championship.

Marshall will now meet No. 2 Luverne for the section title for the third straight year, with a state berth on the line.

The Cardinals defeated No. 7 MBA Storm 15-0 in the quarterfinals, and took down No. 2 Fairmont 5-2 in Saturday’s semifinals.

Luverne and Marshall seem to meet one another often in competitive atmospheres, as the Tigers also defeated the Cardinals for this year’s Big South Conference Championship last Friday.

The two teams know each other well, and will be meeting for the fourth time this season. The Tigers and Cardinals also played each other to end the regular season last Tuesday prior to the conference championship, and Marshall has won all three matchups this year.

“We don’t have to change a thing. It’s [about] making sure that we continue to play our game. That [Luverne] is a very skilled team over there,” Smith said. “We have to make sure that we come out. If we beat them a few times earlier this year, none of that matters anymore. It’s three periods of hockey, and the only thing that matters is who’s got the more goals at the end of that one … If we just come out with confidence and play our game, I like our odds.”

There hasn’t been a Section 3A Championship without Marshall and Luverne battling it out since the 2023 season.

The Cardinals got the win over Marshall in 2024, but the Tigers got revenge last season in a 5-2 victory with a pair of goals each from Mauch and Deutz.

Luverne earned the second seed in the section after finishing the regular season 16-9-0, and entered the postseason ranked No. 16 in Class A. Marshall remained No. 7 in the final coaches poll released on Tuesday, and went 21-4-0 in the regular season to earn a first-round bye in the tournament.

Championship bound

The Section 3A Championship between Marshall (22-4-0) and Luverne (18-9-0) is slated for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at the Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter.

The winner will book a ticket to the state tournament, which is scheduled to begin on Feb. 18 at the Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.