It’s time to add another sport to the already intense Albert Lea-Austin sports rivalry: men’s hockey.

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

It’s time to add another sport to the already intense Albert Lea-Austin sports rivalry: men’s hockey.

The Blades, Albert Lea’s first-year squad, hosted the second-year Austin team at the City Arena Saturday and rallied for a 9-2 victory.

&uot;Austin is probably the best team we’ve faced so far,&uot; said Blades general manager Jason Fornwald.

And the Blades were a little rusty, playing their first game in nearly three weeks. It showed in the early going as Austin took an early 1-0 lead. The Blades were up 4-1 after two periods.

&uot;Once we got our legs going, we ended up playing one of our best games of the season,&uot; said Fornwald. &uot;We really moved the puck nice. We kind of turned it up a notch in the third period, and they kind of ran out of gas.&uot;

Austin, which Fornwald said may join the Blades in the Upper Midwest Hockey League next season, played the previous night at Mason City.

Mike Nelson and David Nystrom both had a hat trick for the Blades, who got one goal apiece from Travis Brua, Mike Miller and Mike Carlson.

Fornwald and Josh Heilman split time in goal, each allowing a goal. Albert Lea outshot Austin 50-25.

&uot;We had another good crowd,&uot; said Fornwald. &uot;We’re looking forward to seeing them again in our next home games.&uot;

The Blades’ Sunday game against Owatonna was canceled.

The Blades are on the road this weekend, traveling for games Saturday and Sunday against the Dubuque River Dogs. The next home action is Dec. 15 and 16 against the Quad Cities Senators.

The Blades, 4-1 in league play, are 7-1 overall.