ALHS hockey girls fourth in Holiday Cup tourney

Published 12:00 am Monday, December 30, 2002

BLAINE &045; The competition figured to be tough for the Albert Lea High School girls’ hockey team in the Holiday Cup Tournament at Blaine, and it was.

After winning their opener against the Minneapolis Novas, the Tigers fell 3-1 to Burnsville and 2-0 to Chisago Lakes to finish in fourth place.

&uot;It was great to get that win against the Novas,&uot; said ALHS coach Mike Miller. &uot;But we could have won all three.&uot;

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A slow start prevented it in the Burnsville game.

The Tigers, according to Miller, were outplayed in the opening period, and they trailed 3-0 before Laura Hillman scored with one second left in the second. The Tigers outshot the Blaze 13-7 in the third but could not find the net.

&uot;We just dug ourselves too big of a hole, and it was too little, too late,&uot; said Miller. &uot;But I was glad to see the girls come back and play well against a strong team. Burnsville hustled and forechecked extremely well.&uot;

The Tigers outshot Burnsville 30-27.

Fatigue was a factor against Chisago Lakes, which is Miller’s alma mater. Chisago Lakes broke a scoreless tie in the second period, and it remained 1-0 until 13:23 of the second. Albert Lea was outshot 25-14.

&uot;We tried everything we could,&uot; said Miller. &uot;We tried different line combinations, moved players around. We threw the kitchen sink at them. We played 11 players and a goalie, and three tough games in three days takes a toll. The girls tried their hardest, I’m proud of the effort they made, there was just no gas left in the tank.&uot;

Danika Porter was in goal all three games for the Tigers, who ran their record to 9-6.

The ALHS girls are at Mankato East Friday for a Big Nine game.