Tigers pounce past Cardinals, 2-0
Jason Wilcox - Sentinel Sports WriterArticle Photos
FAIRMONT - Fairmont Area goalie Jess Wiederhoeft neared a career-best game effort Thursday night.
The junior netminder stopped 67 shots, but the Marshall Tigers goalie ended up pitching the ice shutout.
Marshall sophomore Mary Beth Brungardt stopped all 10 shots she faced as the Tigers came away with the 2-0 nonconference girls hockey win over the Cardinals at Martin County Arena in Fairmont.
"I was encouraged by our goaltending. She's the backbone of keeping us in the game," said Cardinal head coach Scott Kuhl.
Wiederhoeft's career best is 71 saves set during her freshman season. Wiederhoeft faced 38 shots alone in the third period Thursday.
"We played two periods of pretty good hockey. ... We're just not getting enough pucks to the zone on the offensive end," said Kuhl.
The Tigers held a 19-3 shots on goal edge through the first period and got on the board with 12:35 left in the opening frame.
Heidi Schroepfer fired a perfect touch pass from the right circle to the left slot and Rachel Peters redirected the puck on an edge-of-the-stick chip up and in for the lone goal of the first frame.
Wiederhoeft prevented the Tigers' first solid chance by denying Bridgette Louwagie on a breakaway at 13:15.
Wiederhoeft kept the Tigers off the board in the second frame, by again stopping Louwagie on another breakaway at 4:24.
However the Tigers added another goal with 8:09 left in the third period as the visitors used a Cardinal penalty to their advantage.
Schroepfer let loose from the the right circle and the puck barely slipped past Wiederhoeft on the high stick side for the unassisted goal and the 2-0 lead.
Wiederhoeft later put the clamps on a near breakaway shot by Peters at 3:28, after denying Schroepfer and Louwagie on close-range scoring opportunities early in the final frame.
Each team committed four penalties.
Fairmont Area (0-3, 0-1) hosts Windom Area on Tuesday at Martin County Arena in Fairmont. Marshall (4-2) hit the road to play Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato on Tuesday.
Marshall 1 0 1 - 2
Fairmont 0 0 0 - 0
SCORING PLAYS
1st Period
M - Rachel Peters (Heidi Schroepfer), 12:35.
2nd Period
No scoring.
3rd Period
M - Schroepfer (unassisted), 8:09, pp.
Shots on goal: Fairmont Area 3-3-4-10; Marshall 19-12-38-69.
Saves: Jess Wiederhoeft (FA) 18-12-37-67. Mary Beth Brungardt (M) 3-3-4-10.
Penalties: Fairmont Area 4 for 8 minutes; Marshall 4 for 8 minutes.
Power plays: Fairmont Area 0-3; Marshall 1-3.




