FAIRMONT — Marshall Tigers boys hockey head coach Michael Weiss observed that the Fairmont Area Cardinals weren’t the same team his Tigers had played just a month before.

“Their (the Cardinals) game was turned around completely. They played hard and made it difficult for us to get things done today,” Weiss said. “We knew they were going to come in and battle hard, and they did.”

Dylan Criquet-Danielson produced a hat trick’s worth of goals and assists to lead the Tigers over the Cardinals, 9-2, during Big South Conference action Thursday.

“He’s just making the right plays and finishing pucks that should go in the nets,” Weiss said about Criquet-Danielson

The Tiger forward scored the first two goals in three minutes. With 8:31 left in the opening frame, Criquet-Danielson passed to Mason Plante, who passed it back to Criquet-Danielson to put the Tigers on the scoreboard. At the 5:53 mark, Criquet-Danielson smacked in another score just seconds after a face-off in Cardinal territory.

A minute later, Criquet-Danielson and Plante reversed the order of the first goal as Criquet-Danielson provided an assist to Plante for a 3-0 first-period lead.

Forward Dawson Deutz came from behind the net and angled in a goal for the Tigers at the 14:06 mark of the second period. Criquet-Danielson and Plante provided a double assist for Garret Hoff, who scored to put the Tigers up, 5-0.

Five minutes later, however, the Cardinals started gaining momentum and notched their first goal of the game.

Forward Tanner DeWar skated toward the goal when Cardinals head coach Kris Olson yelled, “Shoot.” DeWar did just that and successfully placed the puck in the net. Sam Welker-Mensing assisted on the score.

With 5:52 left in the middle frame, junior forward Tom Havnen connected with senior defender Kaylan Legred, who has scored a goal in three consecutive games, to bring the Cardinals within three.

The Cardinals were able to keep the Tigers from between the pipes for a while, but senior defender Jackson Luther intercepted a Cardinal pass and broke down the ice for a goal to give the Tigers a 6-2 advantage after two periods.

Criquet-Danielson earned a hat trick, scoring at the 13:41 juncture of the third period with assists from Mason Penske and Clay Stevens. He then earned his third assist on Plante’s power-play goal with 5:52 to go.

Deutz and Jonathon Bell teamed to assist center Brenden Archbold on a score to start running time.

Marshall (11-6) plays at Windom on Monday, while Fairmont Area (5-13) hosts Albert Lea at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Marshall       3-3-3–9

Fairmont      0-2-0–2

Scoring Plays

1st Period

M — Dylan Criquet-Danielson (Mason Plante), 8:34.

M — Criquet-Danielson (unassisted), 5:53.

M — Plante (Criquet-Danielson), 4:36.

2nd Period

M — Dawson Deutz (unassisted), 14:06.

M — Garret Hoff (Criquet-Danielson, Plante), 12:10.

FA — Tanner DeWar (Sam Welker-Mensing), 7:33.

FA — Kaylan Legred (Tom Havnen), 5:52.

M — Jackson Luther (unassisted), 0:18.

3rd Period

M — Criquet-Danielson (Mason Penske, Clay Stevens), 13:41.

M — Plante (Criquet-Danielson), pp., 5:52.

M — Brendan Archbold (Deutz, Jonathon Bell), 5:35.

Shots on goal: Marshall 20-25-22–67; Fairmont Area 9-8-2–19.

Saves: Colby Kuhl (FA) 17-22-19 — 58; Trey Nelson (M) 9-6-2– 17.