Photo by Jake McNeill Gavin Welsh (33) uses his blocker to make a save in the first period of Marshall’s 5-3 loss against the Luverne Cardinals Tuesday night. Welsh finished the game with 31 saves.

MARSHALL – The Marshall boys’ hockey team dropped their home matchup against Luverne 4-3. The Cardinals’ victory came on the back of a five-minute power play in which they struck four times to take all momentum.

The Tigers held a 2-0 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the second period when Andrew Seanor was called for a boarding penalty. The Cardinals wasted no time taking advantage of the power play. They got on the board less than a minute in, tied the game up by the two-minute mark, and had a commanding 4-2 lead before all was said and done.

“I thought we brought some good intensity, but we just lost the special teams battle and that five-minute span cost us big time,” Marshall head coach Michael Weiss said.

Marshall had killed a penalty and played some four-on-four just before the major, so fatigue and less aggressive play allowed Luverne to capitalize, Weiss said.

Talan Plante netted a shorthanded goal for the Tigers to give Marshall some hope heading into the final frame. After the Tigers won the faceoff after Luverne’s fourth goal, Plante took the puck right down the ice. He deked his way past some Cardinal defenders before finding himself in a one-on-one situation with the goalie. He dangled the puck to the right to draw the goalie out before snatching it back and sending a wrist shot into the top left corner of the net to bring Marshall within one.

Marshall goalie Gavin Welsh had not allowed a goal prior to the five-minute major, saving each of the first 20 shots he faced. He finished the night with 31 saves and no goals allowed outside of that one stretch.

Weiss was complimentary of Welsh’s play, saying that Welsh’s athletic style of play allowed him to take away some quality scoring chances from Luverne.

Malachi Klemm struck first for the Tigers near the end of the first period. Luverne had seen more scoring opportunities early, but some quality goaltending had kept the game tied at 0-0. After one Luverne shot was deflected, Marshall was able to make a quick transition into the attacking zone with an odd-man rush. A Tiger attacker took a close-range shot, which the Luverne goalie deflected with his right pad, but Klemm got to the rebound and sent the puck into the back of the net to put Marshall up 1-0.

Chippy play was a factor in the game all night, even before the major penalty. Both teams had players in and out of the box from the puck drop and both teams were dishing out hard hits throughout the game.

Parker Schmitt gave Marshall a 2-0 lead in the second period. After gathering the puck on the right side of the net, Schmitt used his speed to zip through the trapezoid and beat the goalie for a wraparound goal five minutes into the period.

Following the loss, Marshall (0-3) will travel to New Ulm, where they will look to pick up their first win of the season on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.