OWATONNA — After about five minutes of play, it seemed as though the Owatonna Huskies would have little problem getting by Faribault in Tuesday’s girls hockey game.

Payton Noble scored at 4 minutes, 36 seconds of the first period to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. Little did they know that that lone goal would stand until the final buzzer sounded.

Goalie Mallorie Dietz stopped 25 shots on the way to a shutout victory.

“Mallorie stood the test,” said Huskies coach Tim Hunst. “You can’t ask your goalie for shutouts, but she came through when we needed her to.”

Dietz is starting to make a case as one of the Big Nine’s best goaltenders, something that coach Tim Hunst said came with effort during the week.

“She’s working to establish herself,” Hunst said. “To this point, she was unproven. She was a backup for a long time. Last year, we saw enormous growth in her ability. It came from a great attitude in practice, and knowing nothing was guaranteed.”

Dietz needed to be on top of her game as the Huskies’ offense struggled in the second and third periods. The lack of scoring started to wear on the team because the chances — 42 shots worth — were there.

“There’s some frustration that kicks in, but we weren’t generating the high-percentage scoring opportunities we need,” Hunst said. “And when we did, we hit some pipes.”

The Huskies (2-1 Big Nine, 2-3 overall) play again at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Austin. That game is worth four points as the Packers decided to not play the Huskies twice. Playing just one game against Austin allowed the Huskies to pick up Blake earlier in the season.