MARSHALL - With a matchup looming with Luverne in the Section 3A playoffs, the No. 3-seeded Marshall girls hockey team wanted all the momentum it could carry against the second-seeded Cardinals.
And in just 46 seconds, the Tigers got rolling and never relented on Friday, getting out of the first round with a 7-0 victory over No. 6 seed Windom at the Lyon County Ice Arena. In three games this season, Marshall outscored the Eagles 24-1.
"We had a very good week of practice and I think the girls were ready already on Wednesday," said Tigers head coach Kevin Schroeder. "They made their mind up that they wanted to come in here and put in a good showing, put the pressure on and get ready for Luverne. They're excited for that rematch already."
Article Photos
Photo by Joe Brown
Marshall’s Lizzie Archbold, middle, takes a shot at goal through Windom defenders Kaylee Janssen, left, and Alexis Jellema-Baerg during Friday’s Section 3A quarterfinal game at the Lyon County Ice Arena. Archbold finished with two goals and an assist in the Tigers’ 7-0 victory.
In two meetings with the Cardinals, the Tigers played to a 2-2 tie, and lost the second matchup 7-2. In the final matchup of the season, the Marshall players are ready for their toughest game of the season.
"It'll definitely be a tight game, you can't predict it," said Tigers sophomore Lizzie Archbold. "It's going to be a tight game and we've got to work for it."
Early on Friday, it was Archbold who got the momentum rolling against Windom. Archbold intercepted a puck in the Eagles' zone, and went top shelf to beat goaltender Amber Svoboda for the 1-0 lead. Archbold finished with two goals and an assist.
Over a minute later, Miranda Fischer put the Tigers up 2-0 off a rebound.
"We just really wanted this game," said Archbold, whose 17 points led the Tigers in the regular season.
"We came out hard in the beginning. We wanted it really bad."
Sara Antony notched a goal from the blue line later in the first to secure the 3-0 advantage.
Looking to cycle the puck and get the defenders involved on the offensive end, Marshall never let Windom get comfortable on defense as the Eagles only got three shots on goal in the game.
"We wanted lots of pressure on the offensive end with the forecheck, cycling, using the defensemen more," Schroeder said. "I thought we did a good job of that. It's nice for them to get all five players involved in the cycling."
It took only 43 seconds in the second period for Marshall to get on the board as Hanna Peterson scored an unassisted goal, her first of two goals on the evening. Megan Vogl punched in one more goal late in the second as she finished with a goal and a pair of assists.
"You got to get used to putting that kind of pressure on. Every loose puck should be ours," Schroeder said. "We wanted to see the girls finish strong and get to every loose puck in the third. It was nice to see the girls make that happen."
Windom0 0 0-0
Marshall3 2 2-7
First Period
M-Lizzie Archbold, 0:46
M-M-Miranda Fischer (Megan Vogl, Mikenna Radke), 1:56
M-Sara Antony (Archbold, Jessica Blanchard), 16:13
Second Period
M-Hanna Peterson, 0:43
M-Vogl (Antony, Radke), 14:55
Third Period
M-Archbold (Antony, Vogl), 10:55
M-Peterson (Sonia Reynolds), 11:30
Shots on Goal: W-3; M-44.
Goaltenders: W-Amber Svoboda (37 saves); M-Sierra Wagner (3 saves), Morgan Morrill (no saves)