New Ulm’s speed burns Marshall boys hockey team, 7-2
MARSHALL — After falling to Luverne earlier in the week, the Marshall boys hockey team looked to bounce back against the New Ulm Eagles. Unfortunately, after the first period, their luck would run short, falling 7-2 to the Eagles in a rowdy game on the ice Thursday night.
“The first period started off slow, but I’m glad we got on the board as soon as we could,” Marshall head coach Michael Weiss said. “Those were probably our best two periods this year so far. We kept them down for a while, but they are a fast team. They took advantage of that, and that’s how they ran away with it.”
Once the puck hit the ice, New Ulm went gunning for the net, scoring their first goal within two minutes. New Ulm, playing defensively, also came with a steamrolling offense.
Although Marshall played the first two periods exceptionally well, they still hit some bumps in the road. Struggling with puck control and covering the puck in desperate situations, New Ulm found a way to get around Marshall.
“We had a lot of good looks, but we couldn’t capitalize on all of them,” said Weiss. “They are a good skating team and have a lot more depth than we do. So, they were able to make more plays than us.”
But a goal from Jacob Johnson held some hope for Marshall. With an assist from Owen Renslow, that would be his first of the night. All the hype was around Johnson, from the student section to the ice, he was keeping everybody on their feet while he could.
After Johnson’s goal, Marshall went back on their offensive luck, hoping to tap it in the goal again. After multiple attempts, they fell short, after a buzzer-beater that hit the crossbar; echoing across the arena.
With the score tied at the beginning of the second period, New Ulm went full throttle without Marshall coming close to the goal. Once again, they started hot, scoring their second goal within two minutes.
The second period ran slow, but it was a gutsy battle. Six penalties were recorded–four from New Ulm and two from Marshall. One of those penalties, a tripping call, had Luke Ehlers limping off to the bench. After a few minutes, he skated back on the ice and finished the rest of the game.
Marshall would keep it clean, but eventually fell victim to New Ulm’s charging offense, selling another goal.
New Ulm added salt to the wound, scoring four goals in the third period.
“They just kept running up the score. They’re a fast team, and if they have to opportunity to score, they will find a way. They shot more than us today and that third period, they showed their strength,” said Weiss.
It looked as if New Ulm switched to bowling, as two players on both sides got tripped up. Following that, was New Ulm’s first goal of the third period.
Penalties killed both teams in the third. After interference calls on both teams, New Ulm would dig their hole a little bigger with a roughing call, making it three on four hockey.
“What we needed with the power plays were good looks. When you’re up by one person, it’s really good to have an advantage. Although we had a lot of good looks, we couldn’t find the rhythm to get some extra goals,” said Weiss.
Capitalizing on power plays is what Marshall struggled with for much of the game. Both teams would go full strength, and New Ulm would sink another goal to increase their lead 5-1.
Another power play was awarded to New Ulm.
Marshall would try to focus defensively but struggles inside the net would become a problem as New Ulm would score yet again, this time off a power play goal. But 30 seconds later, they would strike again. Fans would start packing up, as New Ulm was just running up the score,
But to finish the third period Jacob Johnson scored his second goal of the night, with Luke Ehlers and Carson Kopitski assisting on the goal.
Struggles within the goal is what brought Marshall down. As well as puck control. Finding those good looks is what can make a team better over time. There were many looks that Marshall had, just not enough time to capitalize.
Both teams battled in the section championship last year after Marshall’s historic playoff run. New Ulm would get the best of them and would go onto State playoffs. Marshall, looking to avenge the loss, would come up short, losing 7-2.
“We had a big week this week. After losing to Luverne earlier, we wanted to come into this game and show up. We have some guys who are pretty banged up, but I think we need to work on defense mostly.” said Weiss.
Marshall, (1-4), will host Windom next Tuesday. Game time is set at 7:00 p.m.