By Jake McNeill

sports@nujournal.com

MARSHALL — Looking to earn its third consecutive section championship game appearance, the top-seeded Marshall girls hockey team opens its postseason run by hosting the No. 4 New Ulm Eagles in the Section 3A semifinals Saturday at Red Baron Arena at 3 p.m.

Today’s game will mark the third matchup this season between the Tigers and the Eagles. Marshall earned a 9-1 win over the Eagles in New Ulm on Jan. 13 and defeated them again 8-1 at Red Baron Arena.

Marshall’s defensive effort shined particularly in the first of those two matchups, limiting New Ulm to four shots on goal in the game and holding the Eagles without a shot in the first period. Goalie Lily Stelter didn’t let the Eagles capitalize on their limited opportunities, saving 19 of the 21 shots she faced across the two games.

Brooklyn Mauch led the Tigers offensively with seven goals and five assists across the two games. Peyton DeMuth also logged three goals across the two games, while Elsie Deutz added another pair. Abbey Foley recorded five assists.

Madalynn Olson scored New Ulm’s lone goal in each game, coming off an assist from Jersey Haugen each time. In goal, Ava Schmid made 78 saves, but the Tigers’ offensive bombardment was too much to contain.

Marshall ended New Ulm’s season last year in the section semifinals by a score of 2-1. Marshall outshot New Ulm 36-12 in the win, but then-senior Ava Brennan saved 33 of the 35 shots she faced to keep the Eagles in the game.

Foley scored both of the Tigers’ goals off feeds from Mauch on the power play in the second period, and New Ulm wasn’t able to respond until Tristyn Wolner scored on the power play with just three minutes remaining.

Marshall enters this year’s semifinal matchup with a 21-4-0 record overall and an 11-1-0 Big South record. The Tigers have won 10 straight games since their 3-2 loss to Minnesota River on Dec. 20.

Most recently, the Tigers earned a 6-1 win over Luverne in the conference championship game behind four goals from Mauch and four assists from Foley.

New Ulm enters the matchup at 6-18-2 and finished fifth out of eight teams in the Big South with a 4-6-1 record. Still, the Eagles picked up some momentum in the section quarterfinals with an 8-0 win over Worthington.

New Ulm had six different players score goals in the game, including a pair of goals each from Callie Haugen and Brielynn Weston. Weston also had a pair of assists in the game while Schmid posted a 30-save shutout.

Olson and Callie Haugen lead the New Ulm attack with 13 and 10 goals, respectively, this year. Olson’s 23 points are also a team-high, followed by Haugen and Wolner with 17 each, while Jersey Haugen has recorded a team-high 13 assists.

Still, Marshall’s offensive firepower is a challenge for any team to match up with. Mauch’s 67 goals are 22 more than any other player in the state, according to Minnesota Girls Hockey Hub, while her 99 points are 33 more than any other player in the state. Foley also leads the state in assists with 44.

In goal, Stelter ranks top 10 in the state in goals-against average at 1.40 and wins with 18. She’s posted a .927 save percentage on the season, while Schmid has posted an .893 mark for New Ulm.

The winner of today’s matchup will go on to play in the Section 3A championship at Gustavus Adolphus College’s Don Roberts Ice Rink in St. Peter. The winning team will take on either No. 2 Luverne or No. 3 Fairmont in the championship game. Puck drop for the final is slated for Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.