Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall forward Elsie Deutz, left, takes a faceoff during a prep girls hockey game against Minnesota River at Red Baron Arena in Marshall on Saturday.

MARSHALL — In the waning minutes of the third period, Marshall’s undefeated season appeared to be in jeopardy. The Tigers trailed Big South Conference foe Minnesota River 1-0 in a battle for first place in the conference, but a late goal and a scoreless overtime period allowed Marshall to steal a point in the standings with a 1-1 tie and keep its undefeated season alive through 15 games.

“We’ve been doing a really good job at keeping each other up and not letting each other get down,” Marshall defense Ava Kolander said of Marshall’s ability to overcome adversity. “Even if the other team scores first, we’ve been really good at doing that and just holding each other accountable.”

Trailing by a goal with four minutes remaining, Marshall called a timeout to talk things over on the bench. With 3:45 remaining, Brooklyn Mauch snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The junior forward scored the game-tying goal off an assist from Abbey Foley to keep the Tigers’ hopes alive.

“We came into it and we knew that we had to look for open players,” Foley said of the play. “We knew we had to open up the ice because they were on us the whole game, very persistent.”

Marshall outshot Minnesota River 4-3 in overtime but neither team could put the puck in the net, as the two teams settled for the draw from there.

Marshall dominated the puck through the first two periods and was outshooting the Bulldogs 22-8 in the final minute of the second. Yet, after Marshall forced Minnesota River goalie Annika Magelee to make a tough save on the defensive end, the Bulldogs went on the break.

“No matter how hard we work, we have to put pucks in the back of the net,” Foley said of the team’s offensive performance. “No matter who’s dominating who, we have to be able to put pucks in the back of the net.”

Noelle Simonette and McKenna Andressen passed the puck back and forth as they worked their way up the ice. With just the goalie to beat, Simonette took the puck nearly to the goalline before passing it back to Andressen for the go-ahead goal with 36.7 seconds remaining in the second period. Kaylee Gogerty was also credited with an assist on the play.

Magelee has been a tough goaltender to beat all season for the Bulldogs. The junior entered the day with a .953 save percentage and five shutouts in 11 games. She finished the night with 41 saves on 42 shots faced, setting a new season-high and besting her previous mark of 38 she set in the Bulldogs’ 2-1 win over Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato on Nov. 26.

Prior to Andressen’s go-ahead goal, the Tigers had opportunities to take the lead in the second period. Kendal Beernaert and Peyton DeMuth each got the puck on fast breaks, and each had a puck take a bad bounce off the crossbar to keep the game locked in a scoreless draw.

Defense was the story of the first period. It took two-and-a-half minutes for Avery Kesteloot to fire off the game’s first shot on goal for Marshall.

The Tigers held Minnesota River without a shot on goal for more than 12 minutes. It wasn’t until Mia Wichmann was called for a tripping minor that Lily Stelter was finally forced to make a save in goal for Marshall.

The Tigers outshot the Bulldogs 8-1 in the period but the teams still went into the second locked into a scoreless draw.

“We had very good communication with each other on who’s covering the front of the net, and we did a really good job of helping Lily out in front,” Kolander said of the team’s defensive efforts.

Marshall outshot Minnesota River by a 3-to-1 ratio in regulation, heading into overtime with 38 shots on goal to Minnesota River’s 12.

Stelter put together another quality performance in goal, saving 14 of the 15 shots she faced for a .933 save percentage on the night, bringing her percentage on the season up to .924.

Marshall (14-0-1) remains tied with Minnesota River for first place in the Big South Conference, each sitting at 6-0-1 in conference play.

The Tigerswill take some time off for the holidays before heading to North Dakota for a two-day tournament. The Tigers will take on East Grand Forks (5-10-1) at the West Fargo Sports Arena on Friday at 1:30 p.m. before taking on Fargo North/South (N.D.) (6-1-0) on Saturday at 10 a.m.