Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall’s Eme DeMuth (27) jumps in the air in celebration as she skates toward senior captain Kendal Beernaert (10) following a Marshall goal in the third period of the Section 3A girls hockey championship game at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter on Feb. 11. Marshall enters the Class A state tournament as the No. 6 seed and will take on No. 3 Warroad today in the quarterfinals in the Xcel Energy Center at 1 p.m.

ST. PAUL — Making its first state tournament appearance since 2018 and fourth state appearance ever, the sixth-seeded Marshall girls hockey team will try to stage an upset against tournament regulars, the No. 3 Warroad Warriors in today’s Class A quarterfinals.

Warroad is making its 15th state tournament appearance, all since 2006. The Warriors are also four-time state champions and five-time runners-up, including a Class AA runner-up finish in 2006 and back-to-back Class A championships in 2022 and 2023.

In Marshall’s last state appearance in 2018, the Tigers lost 9-2 to Breck in the Class A quarterfinals, and their run came to an end with a 7-0 loss to Red Wing in the fifth-place consolation bracket. 

While Warroad is the third seed in the state tournament, the final coaches poll had the Warriors ranked as No. 1. Marshall finished the season at No. 12. 

Marshall enters the game at 22-3-2, wrapping up its regular season with a record of 5-3-1 in its final nine games. Warroad enters with a 24-3-1 record and is riding a 17-game win streak.

On its route to the state tournament, Warroad received a first-round bye as the top seed in the Section 8A tournament before beating fourth-seeded Thief River Falls 7-0 in the semifinals and second-seeded Crookston 4-2 in the section championship. 

Warroad led the Crookston Pirates in the section finals 1-0 through two periods before a third-period offensive explosion. The game was tied 2-2 late in the frame, but a pair of goals from Karlee Kalbrener and Taylor Reese put the Warriors ahead for the win. Kalbrener finished the game with two goals and two assists.

A big part of Warroad’s success this season can be attributed to its defense and goaltending. The Warriors have allowed more than two goals just four times in 27 games this season, and none over their last 17 games since Christmas. 

In fact, the Warriors have only allowed more than one goal twice over that stretch, allowing two in an 8-2 win over Rock Ridge on Feb. 1, as well as the 4-2 section finals, win over Crookston on Feb. 13.

In large part, that success can be attributed to the play of goalie Payton Rolli between the pipes for Warroad. The junior goaltender has put together a .942 save percentage and a 1.13 goals against average for the Warriors. On average, she’s saved 18 shots per game.

For Marshall, Lily Stelter has consistently found ways to come up big in big moments. After allowing a pair of early goals in the section championship against Luverne last week, Stelter locked in to hold Luverne scoreless for the remainder of the game and finish with 13 saves. 

Stelter has sported a .907 save percentage and 1.68 goals against average on the season this year, with an average of 16.3 saves per game.

The Marshall Tigers had a scare against New Ulm in their section semifinals, eking out a 2-1 win behind a pair of power-play goals from Abbey Foley, both of which were assisted by Brooklyn Mauch. After trailing 2-0 in their section championship against Luverne, Mauch and freshman Elsie Deutz each netted a pair of goals to flip the tables for a 5-2 win.

Mauch has been one of the state’s most prolific scorers this season. She enters today’s game with 47 goals and 82 points, both team-highs. Foley and Peyton DeMuth have also contributed 46 and 44 points respectively, with Foley’s 32 assists ranking second on the team to Mauch and DeMuth’s 25 goals also ranking second.

For Warroad, Jaylie French leads the team with 56 points and 32 assists, and her 24 goals rank second only to Reese’s 25.

Part of Warroad’s strength is its offensive depth. Reese has accounted for 40 points on the season while Katy Comstock, Kaiya Sandy and Kalbrener have contributed 38, 36 and 35 points respectively on the year.

Puck drop for today’s quarterfinal matchup at the Xcel Energy Center is slated for 1 p.m. The winner of the Warroad-Marshall matchup will play again in the semifinals at the Xcel on Friday at 11 a.m., taking on the winner of No. 2 Orono and No. 7 Fergus Falls. The loser, meanwhile, will head to TRIA Rink to compete in the consolation bracket on Thursday.