Marlins cruise in first round

ABERDEEN — The Mitchell Marlins hit the ice ready to play on Friday.

The Mitchell girls’ hockey team found the net twice in the opening 2 minutes of the game and went on to a 6-2 win over the Sioux Falls Flyers in the opening round of the SDAHA Girls’ Varsity State Tournament at the Odde Ice Center in Aberdeen.

Only 1 minute 11 seconds into the game, Mitchell scored first on a goal by Anna Rice. The Marlins added a second goal by Ashley Murtha just a little more than one minute later to take a 2-0 lead.

“That’s a big thing with our team,” said Mitchell coach Eric Hohn. “If we don’t get off to a fast start, it seems like we don’t get going. If we aren’t first on the board, it isn’t going to be a very good game for us. We stress to the girls to get out there and get the puck in the net.”

Sioux Falls got on the board with a goal by Hannah Mutschelknaus with four minutes left in the period but Mitchell responded with an unassisted score by Haley Stahl. The scoring slowed down in the second period with just one Mitchell goal by Stahl. The Marlins scored despite being shorthanded with a player in the penalty box.

“We have more goals on penalty kills than on power plays. For some reason, we play better on the kill. We pass better and control the puck better. I tell them they should do that on the power play,” said Hohn.

Sioux Falls started the third period with another Mutschelknaus goal. The Marlins added two more goals in the final period, including the last one on a power play. Stahl led Mitchell with two goals and an assist in the game. Rice added two goals and Morgan Griebel had two assists. It marked Mitchell’s fourth win of the season over Sioux Falls.

“I was pleased with the way we started,” said Hohn. “Sioux Falls is a young team that is really coming along. They’re going to be really good in the next two or three years. Sioux Falls will be one of the teams to beat.”

Mitchell will play Rushmore in a semifinal game at 5 p.m. today.

Tags: sports, marlins, hockey, updates