CUTTING IT LOOSE — Fairmont Area’s Hudson Artz (10) hammers the puck from the point at New Ulm goaltender Kyle Esser during Big South hockey action Thursday night at Martin County Area. The Cardinals’ Brock Lutterman (back left) and the Eagles’ Luke Steffensmeier look on. (Photo by Greg Abel)

FAIRMONT — Depth, diversification and defense.

The New Ulm Eagles’ high-octane offense featured 11 different players generating at least two points to power its way to a 15-0 Big South Conference boys hockey rout over the Fairmont Area Cardinals on Thursday night at Martin County Arena.

Jace Addy and Kedar Schmitz each collected game-leading hat tricks and added one assist apiece for good measure to pace an Eagles’ attack that produced a 54-12 shots-on-goal advantage over the Cardinals.

Noah Wilmes distributed a game-best four assists and chipped in a solo goal for New Ulm, while Kadon Strong joined Wilmes by earning a playmaker by doling out three assists.

AJ Arneson tallied three points for the Eagles by finding the net twice and distributing one helper, while teammate Braxten Hoffmann flipped Arneson’s statistical line by lighting the lamp once and dishing two assists.

Cole Hesse contributed two goals to the purple-and-white’s scoring effort, while Jack Albrecht distributed a pair of helpers to account for his two points in the conference contest.

Blake Soukup, Luke Geiger and Keagan Schiro each collected two points for the Eagles by collecting one goal and one assist on the double-digit victory.

Sam Keckeisen, Josh Gulden and Kyle Esser each rounded out New Ulm’s offensive avalanche by distributing one assist.

Esser turned away 12 Fairmont Area shots on goal to earn the shutout victory for New Ulm.

Starting netminder Rachel O’Connor recorded a game-leading 34 saves for Fairmont Area, while backup goalie Bryant Armitage turned away five of the six shots he faced between the pipes in relief.

The Eagles scored five goals in each of the three 17-minute periods. New Ulm capitalized on three of its four power-play opportunities, while Fairmont Area did not score in five chances.

Fairmont Area (0-4) travels to New Ulm (2-2) on Tuesday night for the second game of the two conference teams’ home-and-away seasonal series.

•

Girls Hockey

New Ulm 4, Fairmont Area 0 — Julia Helget produced three clutch points, while goaltender Ava Brennan pitched a shutout to engineer the Eagles’ 4-0 victory over the Class A No. 20-ranked Cardinals during Big South Conference hockey action Thursday night in New Ulm.

After Fairmont Area netminder Hadley Artz and Brennan each stonewalled their opposing offenses during a scoreless opening period, Helget delivered the first of her game-leading two assists to help the Eagles grab a 1-0 lead 4:44 into the second segment. Evie Sellner converted Helget’s pass into a power-play goal to spoil Artz’s shutout bid.

Helget then displayed her playmaking skills again by spotting Brooke Arneson for an even-strength goal at the 5:47 juncture en route to a 2-0 margin.

Maddi O’Connor then extended the Eagles’ advantage to 3-0 with only 45 seconds remaining in the middle period. O’Connor cashed in Emma Brudelie’s assist for a net-finding shot.

Helget then collected an unassisted goal at the 5:20 mark of the third period to close out her three-point performance for New Ulm.

Artz collected a game-leading 29 saves for Fairmont Area, while Brennan netted the shutout win by turning away five shots.

The Eagles went 1-for-1 on power-play chances, while the Cardinals were 0-for-1 on the game.

Fairmont Area (3-1) plays host to New Ulm (3-1) in the second game of the conference rivals’ home-and-away seasonal series at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Martin County Arena in Fairmont.