FAIRMONT — For the first time since 2011, the Fairmont Area Cardinals won their opening game in the Section 3A tournament.

Fairmont Area beat the Willmar Cardinals 4-1 in the play-in round of the Section 3A tournament Tuesday night at Martin County Arena in Fairmont. No. 8-seed Fairmont Area (6-19) moves on to face No. 1-seeded Hutchinson at 7 p.m. Thursday in Hutchinson.

Hudson Artz put Fairmont Area ahead late in the first period. No. 9-seeded Willmar finishes its season with a record of 2-23-1.

Carson Kuhl fed the puck up the ice to Eli Anderson who put a shot on goal, which Willmar goalie Ian Koosman stopped. The puck slid to Koosman’s right, still in front of the net, where Artz one-timed it into the left side of the webbing.

Fairmont Area head coach Dylan VanBrocklin said the hometown Cardinals stuck with it through troubles in the first period and didn’t look back.

“There were a couple times early when we let off the gas peddle and it showed,” VanBrocklin said. “The first period we got outshot about 2-to-1. We got that quick goal and we never let up after that, that was huge. We could have let up and they would have come right back. Second period, I thought we played a lot better. Third period, we had those lapses again, but overall I thought it was really good.”

Carsen Musser began a fantastic day in goal, stopping 15 first-period shots to keep the visiting Cardinals off the board.

Kuhl gave the hometown red and white an insurance goal in the second period.

Anderson collected the puck off the bleacher-side boards after a faceoff in the right circle before sending a centering pass toward Kuhl in front of the net. Kuhl caught the puck with his back to the net, flipped to his forehand and fired a shot into the left side of the cage with 4:27 left in the middle segment.

Musser continued his excellent performance between the pipes, stopping 16 shots, including four during the lone power play of the middle period.

Willmar’s Jason Malmgren ended Musser’s shot at a shutout with a goal with 14:56 left in the matchup. Aidan Donelan launched a shot off a Fairmont Area defender, sending the puck into the air, where Malmgren tapped it to change its course around Musser.

Fairmont Area extended its lead back to two when Artz scored with help from Anderson and Thomas Claeys.

Anderson hit a shot on goal, which Koosman blocked, sending the puck to near the right pipe where Artz collected it and sneaked it into the bottom-right corner of the webbing. Anderson earned his third assist of the night for a playmaker.

Willmar called a timeout with 1:35 remaining to pull Koosman and get a sixth skater on the ice. The plan nearly worked, with Musser neading to make six saves in the final 95 seconds, including a four-save sequence with the puck loose in front of the net, but Musser kept the visitors off the scoreboard and sent the puck up the middle of the ice with under 15 seconds left. Kuhl tapped the loose puck to keep it ahead of Willmar’s racing defenders and scored an open-net goal for good measure with eight seconds remaining. Musser ended with 49 saves.

“If he wouldn’t have made those saves, it could have easily gone the other way,” VanBrocklin said. “It’s great having a good goalie, if you have a good goalie, you can go far.”

Willmar outshot Fairmont Area 50-32 in the matchup.

VanBrocklin said the win just proves what he’s thought about the hometown team all season.

“It just goes to show that we’re capable of it,” VanBrocklin said.

Willmar 0-0-1–1

Fairmont 1-1-2–4

Scoring Plays

1st Period

FA–Hudson Artz (Carson Kuhl, Eli Anderson), 3:54.

2nd Period

FA–Carson Kuhl (Eli Anderson), 4:27.

3rd Period

WIL–Jason Malmgren (Aidan Donelan), 14:56.

FA–Hudson Artz (Eli Anderson, Lucas Flohrs), 9:53.

FA–Carson Kuhl (unassisted), 0:08, EN.

Shots on goal: Fairmont Area 7-14-11–32; Willmar 15-16-19–50

Saves: Carsen Musser (FA) 15-16-18–49; Ian Koosman (WIL) 6-13-9–28.

Penalties: Fairmont Area 3 for 6 minutes; Willmar 1 for 2 minutes.

Power-play chances: Fairmont Area 0 for 1; Willmar 0 for 3.