Photo by Samantha Davis New Ulm's Abby Forstner feeds the puck up to Callie Haugen on offense  in the second period at the Red Baron Arena in Marshall Saturday afternoon. The Eagles fell to the Tigers 2-1 in the Section 3A semifinals.

By Samantha Davis

sports@nujournal.com

MARSHALL — Despite a late rally effort, the No. 4 New Ulm girls hockey team fell to top-seed Marshall 2-1 in the Section 3A semifinals Saturday afternoon at the Red Baron Arena, ending its season. Tristyn Wolner scored the Eagles’ lone goal in the third period.

After a scoreless first period, Marshall’s Abbey Foley scored a pair of crucial goals in the opening minutes of the second period to build up a lead. New Ulm came out hot in the third period and brought the game within a goal, but the Tigers’ defense remained cohesive to solidify the win.

Marshall overall had 36 shots on goal attempts to New Ulm’s 12, seven of which came in the third period.

There were 14 penalties assessed throughout the game, and half of them came in the second period. The Tigers had six to the Eagles’ eight, and all were minor.

After earning a bye into the semifinals with the top-seed, Marshall came to face the Eagles after they defeated No. 5 Worthington 4-0 in the quarterfinals Thursday night.

Marshall and New Ulm met twice during the regular season, with the Tigers coming away with the win both times.

Marshall defeated New Ulm 8-1 on Dec. 5, and again in a 4-0 shutout on Jan. 21.

The first period quickly showed what was bound to be a competitive afternoon, with both teams going scoreless for the first 17 minutes.

New Ulm goalie Ava Brennan is a key player for the Eagles, and had a 93.6% save percentage ahead of Saturday.

Brennan forced Marshall to get creative in its shot taking, and had four saves in the first two minutes of the game. She went on to save all of Marshall’s 17 shots on goal attempts in the first period.

“She [Brennan] just stands on her head, and she’s always been a great goalie,” Marshall assistant coach Chris Foley said. “She’s a senior now, but she’s been good throughout the years.”

Brennan finished the day with a 94% save percentage, allowing two of the 36.

The intensity heightened in the second period, both teams fighting to get on the board. The Tigers’ effort on both ends found some spark, which earned them control of the puck for a majority of the time.

Foley put Marshall ahead with her two goals in the first minutes of the second period, which ultimately saved the game for the Tigers.

New Ulm turned up its offensive dial up midway through the second period and hit a few consecutive shots. But, Marshall goalie Lily Stelter saved the attempts and didn’t allow a puck to get past her.

Stelter finished with a 92% save percentage, allowing one of the 12.

The Eagles started on a late rally in the third period and brought the game within one.

Wolner got the puck on defense and went up the rink unassisted to lay the puck in the back of the net in the third minute of the final frame.

New Ulm continued to control the offense for several consecutive minutes, and had a handful of good looks to the end.

In the final minute of the game, the Eagles’ took Brennan out of the net to put an extra body on offense.

But, Marshall was able to sustain the fighting Eagles and lock down on the puck to secure the win.

Marshall was able to work around the Eagles’ defense and spent a majority of the first period in New Ulm territory. But, the puck was either deflected by Brennan or hit the top bar of the goal.

The Eagles had a few breakaways, but Marshall’s defensive line continued to quickly get the puck back to its offense.

New Ulm was limited to just one shot on goal in the first.

The Eagles finish their season 11-14-2 overall, and graduate its two seniors in Brennan and Mya Hornick.

Brennan finishes the year with a 93.7% save percentage in the net, saving 783 shots of 836 attempts, including five shutouts. Hornick finished with 10 goals, nine assists and a team second-best 19 points on the season.

Madalynn Olson led the Eagles this year with 23 points from 10 goals and 13 assists. Jersey Haugen followed Olson and Hornick with 18 points, seven goals and 11 assists.

Ava Schmid also spent time in the goal throughout the season, and finished with a 90.5% save percentage. She saved 143 shots out of 158 attempts.