ROCHESTER &045; The freshman played well again.

But the Albert Lea High School boys’ hockey team couldn’t match Rochester John Marshall’s firepower.

Freshman Evan Long, making his second varsity start for the sidelined Matt Tubbs, was strong in the net as the Tigers lost 3-1 in a Big Nine game at Rochester Thursday night.

&uot;Our goaltender played very, very well tonight,&uot; said Tigers coach Roy Nystrom. &uot;JM has a very nice team. They play real good hockey, and they took it to us tonight.&uot;

After a scoreless first period, Adam Boelter put Albert Lea up 1-0 with a shorthanded goal in the second. Jon Breuer assisted.

The Rockets tied it midway through the second and, 42 seconds later, scored what turned out to be the winning goal. They added a third with about five minutes left.

JM improved to 4-0 in the Big Nine and 5-1 overall while Albert Lea fell to 2-1 and 3-2.

The Tigers are back in action Tuesday with a nonconference game against Waseca at the City Arena.