File photo by Steve Muscatello New Ulm’s Julia Helget handles the puck as teammate Maddi O’Connor (2) follows during a home game on Jan. 28 at the New Ulm Civic Center.

NEW ULM — Evie Sellner recorded a natural hat trick in the first period as the New Ulm girls’ hockey team blanked Worthington 9-0 Thursday night in a Big South Conference hockey game at the New Ulm Civic Center.

Maddi O’Connor, Morgan Klein, Julia Helget, Afton Hulke, Jada Rahe and McKenna Strong all added goals.

Helget added three assists, with O’Connor and Brooke Arneson each adding two helpers. Emma Brudelie, Hulke, Strong and Malorie Anderson each had an assist.

New Ulm goaltender Ava Brennan stopped all eight Worthington shots in the game as New Ulm outshot Worthington 43-8 in the game.

The Eagles, who improved to 12-1 in conference play and 14-2 overall, jumped to a 3-0 lead after the first period thanks to Sellner, who scored her first two goals of the game on assists from O’Connor and Helget just 54 seconds apart before netting her natural hat trick on an unassisted goal at the 11:06 mark.

Sellner almost had her fourth straight goal in the first 17 minutes but her backhander clanked off of the pipe.

McKenna Strong’s goal just 40 seconds into the second period made it 4-0 and a Morgan Klein score upped the lead to 5-0 at the 2:32 mark.

A Helget goal and an unassisted goal off of the stick of Rahe increased the lead to 7-0 after two periods.

A Hulke unassisted goal and an O’Connor goal on a New Ulm power play ended the scoring.

New Ulm is at Dodge County on Friday night.