Boys Hockey: Dragons back in the hunt

LITCHFIELD - Litchfield/Dassel-Cokato inched closer to a second-straight trip to the Section 3A finals on Thursday as the second-seeded Dragons disposed of seventh-seeded Redwood Valley 6-2.

LDC struck first when Mason Schroeder scored a goal off a pass from Patrick Benson at the 6-minute, 16-second mark. But the Cardinals would go into the first intermission with a two-goal lead after Luke Ryan and Chase Schablin found the back of the net.

Midway through the second, the Dragons tied the game with a Jackson Bakeberg goal. Then at 14:11, Brandt Pedersen scored what would be the game-winning goal off assists from Dylan Schutz and Caleb Keith. LDC aided its efforts with three third-period goals, punching their ticket to the section semifinals.

Despite being outshot 37-14, the Dragons got the win thanks to a 35-save effort from goaltender Darby Halonen.

LDC (12-11-3) will face off with third-seeded New Ulm Saturday for a spot in the section finals. Game time is tentatively slated for 8 p.m. at Lund Arena at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter.

Section 3A

LDC 6,

RV 2

RV 2 0 0 - 2

LDC 1 2 3 - 6

FIRST PERIOD - LDC: Mason Schroeder (Patrick Benson) 6:16 ... RV: Luke Ryan 8:01 sh ... RV: Chase Schablin (Mason Clark) 16:43

SECOND PERIOD - LDC: Jackson Bakeberg 8:28 ... LDC: Brandt Pedersen (Dylan Schutz, Caleb Keith) 14:11

THIRD PERIOD - LDC: Blake Johnson (Cole Evjen) 1:00 ... LDC: Jake Johnson 9:50 ... LDC: Schroeder (Pederson) 14:28

GOALIE SAVES/SHOTS - RV: Kia Jacobson 8/14 ... LDC: Darby Halonen 35/37

Marshall 6,

Willmar 2

Within a 99-second span in the first period, Marshall blew the gates wide open in Thursday's Section 3A quarterfinal.

In that time, the top-seeded Tigers scored a trio of goals that set the tone for a 6-2 win over eighth-seeded Willmar, ending the Cardinals' season.

Both of Willmar's goals came in the third period. Down 4-0, Ashton Gregory got the Cardinals' first tally, off an assist from Elbridge DeKraai, 51 seconds into the period. Sixty-four seconds later, DeKraai popped in an unassisted goal to cut the deficit to 4-2 before Marshall tacked on two more goals later in the period.

Mason Plante finished the game with two goals and two assists for the Tigers while Bryson Whyte had a score and a helper in the victory.

Gunnar Banks stopped 23 of 29 shots in net for the Cardinals, which end the 2018-19 season with a 3-19-3 record.

Willmar 0 0 2 - 2

Marshall 3 0 3 - 6

FIRST PERIOD - M: Tristan VanDeVere (Mason Plante) 4:29 pp ... M: Joe Archbold (Caden Thordson) 5:51 ... M: Plante (Bryson Whyte, Cole Remme) 6:08

SECOND PERIOD - No goals scored

THIRD PERIOD - M: Landon Frost (Plante, Jenson Meyer) 0:20 ... W: Ashton Gregory (Elbridge DeKraai) 0:51 ... W: Elbridge DeKraai 1:55 ... M: Plante 12:36 ... M: Whyte (Landon Frost) 12:50 sh

GOALIE SAVES/SHOTS - Willmar: Gunnar Banks 23/29 ... Marshall: Dominik Caspers 17/19

1/2: Litchfield/DC's Mason Schroeder checks Redwood Valley's Luke Ryan into the boards during the first period of Thursday's Section 3A quarterfinal game at the Litchfield Civic Arena. Joe Brown / Tribune

2/2: Litchfield/DC's Trent Raisanen skates toward the net during the first period of Thursday's Section 3A quarterfinal game against Redwood Valley at the Litchfield Civic Arena. Joe Brown / Tribune