REDWOOD FALLS — When the final buzzer sounded Friday night, members of the Marshall girls hockey team could celebrate — at last.
 
The Tigers had every reason to. They were going to the state tournament for the first time in the program’s history.
 
They earned that first-ever berth with a 5-3 win over New Ulm in the Section 3AA championship front of a capacity crowd at the Redwood Area Community Center in Redwood Falls.
 
“Only eight teams in the whole state get there,” Tiger sophomore goaltender Sarah Schneekloth said. “It’s awesome to be one of them.”
 
Marshall will face Crookston at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul in the Class A quarterfinals. Crookston (23-3-1) beat Warroad, 3-2, in the Section 8A championship Thursday.
 
There was not a more appropriate place for the Tigers’ celebration than near the net, where sophomore goaltender Sarah Schneekloth had performed so well for the team all night.
 
Schneekloth stopped an incredible 48 of 51 shots in net, including keeping New Ulm off the scoreboard during an 18-shot barrage in the first period.
 
That first period loomed crucial for both teams.
 
New Ulm (17-9) came out and applied heavy pressure in the Tigers’ zone with 18 shots. Schneekloth turned away all of them.
 
“I knew they were going to come out strong right away in the first period,” Schneekloth said. “We knew what we had to do to stop them.”
 
“(We said), ‘we’ve got to survive that initial rush of theirs,” Tiger head coach Kevin Schroeder said.
 
Marshall, meanwhile, only managed seven shots. But it was key shot by Rachel Peters — only an eighth grader — that provided one of the biggest plays of the game.
 
Peters let go of a slapshot from the blue line that cleared New Ulm’s Katie Hanley with 57 seconds left in the first period to give the Tigers 1-0 lead.
 
“Right at the end we had momentum going into the second period,” Tiger junior Jill Jacobs said of Peters’ goal. “Pretty much exactly what we needed. It changed the game, I would say.”
 
“The first goal is always (a) huge advantage,” Schneekloth said.
 
Despite being outshot 18-7 in the opening period, Marshall had a 1-0 lead going into intermission.
 
A crucial key was killing off a 5-on-3 advantage for New Ulm.
 
“That’s a huge momentum (builder) for us; it’s big for them not scoring,” Schroeder said. “That was huge.”
 
Marshall (21-7) converted a power-play goal in the second period, when Jacobs scored off of an assist from Crowell. That built a 2-0 Tiger lead with 6:13 left in the second.
 
“That was another key — we wanted to have lots of shots,” Jacobs said.
 
Tiffany Hoffmann got New Ulm on the board with a goal in the second period just 14 seconds after Jacobs scored. That 2-1 score stood until the third period.
 
The Tiger defense forced many of New Ulm’s shots to come with traffic in front of the net.
 
“We had a lot of patience,” Moran said. “We watched the body more than the puck, and kept everyone out in front of Sarah.”
 
That’s when Jacobs delivered again with a goal with 9:44 left to put Marshall up 3-1.
 
That lead grew to 4-1 with Alyssa Isaackson scored on the power play about midway through the third period.
 
“We knew we were ahead, and we knew what we had to do to stay ahead,” Schneekloth said. “We got those goals right away and that just boosts our confidence right away.”
 
New Ulm managed one final flurry.
 
Korrine O’Connor finally got a shot past Schneekloth with 45.8 seconds left to bring New Ulm within 4-2.
 
With their goalie pulled, Hoffmann — who had 19 points in the Eagles’ first two section playoff games — scored with 5.5 seconds left, bring the Eagles within 4-3.
 
Then, Moran put the final touch on the Tigers’ section championship goal.
 
She sent a shot towards the empty New Ulm and scored with seven-tenths of a second left to put the game away for the Tigers.
 
“It felt really good,” Moran said of the final goal.
 
Schneekloth proved to be a difference-maker with her 48 saves.
 
“She played really, really good,” Moran said. “We knew coming into it we had to look on her to play really good and she did.”
 
“I was just so excited,” Schneekloth said. “It was crazy. You don’t think about the pressure when you’re back there.”
 
Jacobs, Crowell, Moran, Heidi Schroepfer and DeSaer had assists for the Tigers.
 
Marshall had accomplished its season-long goal —a trip to the state tournament.
 
“It means a lot,” Moran said. “Right now it hasn’t set in. But it really means a lot, not only (to) us, but to everyone.”
 
“It’s awesome,” Jacobs said. “It means a lot to the program...it’s a great feeling.”

New Ulm  0 1 2 — 3
 Marshall   1 1 3 — 5
 
First period: 1. M-Rachel Peters (Heidi Schroepfer), 16:03
Penalties: M-Crowell (interference), 7:20; M-Moran (hooking), 6:03
Second period: 2. M-Jill Jacobs (Katie Crowell), 11:47; 3. NU-Tiffany Hoffmann (Korrine O’Connor), 12:01
Penalties: NU-Hoffmann (interference), 10:50
Third period: 4. M-Jacobs (Sara DeSaer), 7:16; 5. M-Alyssa Isaackson (Jacobs, Moran), 8:34; 6. NU-O’Connor (unassisted), 16:15; 7. NU-Hoffmann (unassisted), 16:55; 8. M-Alli Moran (unassisted), 16:59
Penalties: M-Lendt (tripping), 15:07; NU-Kehren (too many players on ice),; M-Crowell (interference), 7:59; M-Moran (cross-checking), 5:09; M-Crowell (interference)
 
Shots: NU 18-15-18 — 51; M 7-6-3 — 16
 
Saves: NU-Katie Hanley 11; M-Sarah Schneekloth 48