MINNEAPOLIS &045; It terms of wins and losses, the Blake Tournament may not have been a productive experience for the Albert Lea High School boys’ hockey team.

As far as progress, it was a resounding success.

Coach Roy Nystrom said the Tigers took steps in the right direction after falling 4-1 to defending Class A state champion Totino-Grace in the consolation title game Saturday. It left the Tigers 1-2 in the tournament and 5-5 for the season.

&uot;There were a lot of positives today, a lot of positives for the tournament,&uot; said Nystrom. &uot;I thought our kids made a jump for the better.&uot;

They bettered Totino-Grace 30-28 in shots on goal, putting 20 shots on the net in the second period alone. It was 1-0 after one period and 3-1 after two.

&uot;We played one heck of a hockey game,&uot; said Nystrom. &uot;The puck, for some reason or another, just did not bounce our way today. It was an even game.

There’s no question in the world, if our boys want to play hockey, they can play with the best in Class A.&uot;

Casey Schumaker scored the Tigers’ goal on assists from Tony Dugstad and Jon Breuer. Matt Tubbs was in goal.

The Tigers are off until Tuesday, Jan. 7, when they travel to arch-rival Austin.