Photo by Jake McNeill Marshall forward Elsie Deutz, right, jostles for position on the puck with a Warroad defender during the Class A state quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul on Wednesday. Marshall faced off against Fergus Falls at TRIA Arena in St. Paul on Thursday, defeating the Otters 3-2 in overtime to advance to Saturday’s fifth-place game.

ST. PAUL — After being bounced out of the championship bracket by three-time reigning state champion Warroad on Wednesday, the No. 6 Marshall Tigers gritted out an overtime win over No. 7 Fergus Falls in the Class A girls consolation bracket on Thursday. The Otters’ offense came alive in the third period to tie up the game after regulation, but Mady Girard played the hero in overtime to secure the 3-2 Marshall win to keep the season alive.

Girard’s game-winner came just over 10 minutes into the overtime period, assisted by Eme DeMuth and Kendal Beernaert. The goal gave the senior forward her 10th point of the season and second goal of the year, with her other coming in a 4-1 road win over Fairmont on Jan. 14.

While Marshall possessed the lead for most of the third period, Fergus Falls scored the tying goal with seven minutes remaining. Rachel Debrtio netted the equalizer off a feed from Margaret Greenagel, forcing the game into overtime at 2-2.

Girard also assisted with the game’s first goal, courtesy of Aubree Metheny. After a scoreless first period, Metheny finished off a feed from Elsie Deutz and Girard to give Marshall a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the second frame. The goal brought Metheny up to a total of nine on the season, ranking fifth on the team.

The goal was Metheny’s third against Fergus Falls this year after she netted a pair of second-period goals to lift Marshall past Fergus Falls for a 4-2 win on Nov. 9. 

Lily Stelter put up another stellar performance in goal for Marshall, saving 21 of the 23 shots she faced in goal on the day. The defense in front of her improved as the game progressed, as she made nine shots in the first period, eight in the second, four in the third and didn’t have to save any in overtime. 

On the opposite end of the ice, Marshall got stronger as the game progressed, forcing Mia Olson to make four first-period saves, 10 in the second and 11 in the third. 

Deutz joined Girard as Tigers with multiple points in the game when she assisted Ava Kolander’s go-ahead goal in the third period. While Averie Tonneson answered Metheny’s goal with a goal for Fergus Falls a minute into the third period, Kolander finished off a feed from Deuzt and Krog another three minutes later to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead. The assist brought Deutz up to fourth on the team with 22 points on the season, while the goal was Kolander’s fifth of the year. 

Defensively, Kolander tied Mia Wichmann and Avery Kesteloot with two blocked shots each, while Beernaert blocked another.

While no periods were called in the first two periods of Marshall’s quarterfinals loss to Warroad on Wednesday, and only three penalties were called in total, Marshall was called for a pair of penalties in the first two periods of Thursday’s game and the two teams combined for six total penalties in the game. Still, neither team was able to capitalize on the power play.

With its season still alive, Marshall has the opportunity to take home some hardware from the state tournament for the first time on Saturday. The Tigers will be taking on fifth-seeded Proctor/Hermantown in the fifth-place game, after the Mirage lost 2-0 to No. 4 Academy of Holy Angels in the quarterfinals but bounced back with a 4-0 win over No. 8 River Lakes Stars in the consolation semifinals.

The fifth-place game is slated to be played at 11 a.m. on Saturday at TRIA Rink.