ABOVE: Fairmont's Hunter Olson wrangles the puck out of the Corner against the Marshall Tigers Monday night at Martin County Arena.

FAIRMONT – The Fairmont Cardinals put on a solid defensive showing against the Marshall Tigers Monday night in a 5-1 loss. With a reconfigured line the Cardinals looked the most promising performance of the season thus far.

Fairmont head coach Dylan VanBrocklin said the effort by his Cardinals, who dropped to 0-16 on the year with the loss, was there, which is something he’s been asking for.

“The effort was there,” said VanBrocklin. “The last few games, that’s all I’ve really seen. What I’ve asked for, or asked from them, is just no matter who we’re playing, no matter what we’re doing, I just want us to work hard. I would say tonight, they worked harder than any other game all year and it showed. They had a lot of fun doing it, too. They were busting their butt, super tired, but it was still more fun than when they don’t work hard. So, I think that was eye-opening for them.”

The opening period of the matchup seemed to be stuck in a stalemate for the first four minutes. The aggressive forecheck of the Cardinals was doing an efficient job of disrupting the dump-and-chase style offense of the Tigers (9-11). Despite that forecheck by the Cards, the Tigers were able to get through the Fairmont defense with 14:34 seconds left on the first-period clock with a shot from the right-hand side by Jacob Johnson that beat Brandon Hector blocker side on the far post for the Tigers’ first goal.

The offensive zone pressure produced by the Cardinals did look promising through the majority of the period, creating looks and open shots, but the clamp-down defense of the Tigers was effective at getting bodies in front of the net, preventing many of the shots from becoming a real threat. The Cardinals’ power play unit took the ice with 9:54 on the clock after an Easton Larson roughing penalty granted the man advantage.

Fairmont created several chances on goal but was unable to convert. The Tigers returned to full strength for the final three minutes of the opening period. The aggressive forecheck and breakout style of the Tigers produced yet another goal, this time by Koda Peterson, who broke free in the neutral zone and was able to tuck the puck behind Hector again on the blocker side. Despite that lead on the scoreboard, the shots only favored Marshall 8-5 as the Cardinals continued to battle to the final buzzer of the first period.

The second period turned out to be a battle between each team’s respective power-play units and penalty killers, with Marshall going on the power play first due to a tripping call on Eric Determan. Despite being a man down, the Cardinal penalty killers held their own, not allowing the Tigers to capitalize on the chance with 6:58 left on the clock. Fairmont gained the advantage off of a tripping penalty assessed on Peterson and despite numerous promising chances around the front of the net, the Cardinals were unable to convert with the score still sitting at 2-0.

The final penalty of the frame would come at 2:30 in favor of Marshall after Klay Beamer was called for tripping. Again, the penalty-killing unit of the Cardinals was able to make a stand to keep Marshall off of the board. Upon the release of the penalty, Beemer streaked down the ice on a breakaway that required a very quick back check out of the Tigers and a key save by goaltender Nathan Lenz to maintain the 2-0 Marshall lead headed into the final intermission.

Penalties continued to be a theme as the third period carried on, with Marshall gaining the advantage early. Before the penalty expired, Fairmont went another man down, this time due to a five-minute major for contact to the head. The penalty killers of the Cardinals managed to find the back of the net shorthanded when Gavin Kester connected with Beemer in front of the Tigers’ net and was able to convert to make it 2-1. Fairmont would get another chance on the power play but despite being a man down, Marshall converted on a breakaway by Owen Renslow putting the Tigers up 3-1. The Tigers lit the lamp two more times off of the sticks of Luke Ehlers and Carson Kopitski before the frame came to a close, securing the 5-1 victory.

Fairmont hosts Faribault at 7 p.m. on Monday. Marshall takes on Minnesota RIver in Le Sueur on Saturday.