AUSTIN &045; The teams may be fairly new, but the rivalry goes way back, and there was no shortage of intensity as the Albert Lea Blades met the Austin Outlaws in a Southern Minnesota Hockey League game at Austin’s Riverside Arena Saturday night.

Both sides took roughing penalties, according to general manager Jason Fornwald, as the Blades rallied from a 4-0 deficit and held on for a 6-5 triumph.

&uot;It was a spirited affair,&uot; said Fornwald. &uot;That tends to happen when you have back-to-back games with Austin.&uot;

Especially between the Blades and Outlaws, who beat Albert Lea in a summer tournament at the City Arena but have since lost twice to the locals.

&uot;It was a very good game,&uot; said Fornwald of Saturday’s contest. &uot;It was back and forth action again. They’ve got a solid team.&uot;

They showed it by taking a 4-0 lead, but the Blades responded with six consecutive goals, one each by Nick Kruse, Don Savelkoul, Chad Hacker, Jeremy Hendrickson, Dave Nystrom and Justin Bolinger.

Austin pulled its goalie and, with a minute left in regulation, cut the Albert Lea lead to one, but could not net the equalizer.

&uot;After we got down 4-0, we kind of needed a gut check, and the guys took it upon themselves to get us back in the game,&uot; said Fornwald. &uot;We also switched some lines around, and that kind of changed the momentum too.&uot;

The Blades were outshot 42-38.

Scott Heilman and Kruse played a strong game on both ends of the ice, according to Fornwald, while Nate Ellsworth played well defensively.

&uot;We needed some strong defense at the end, and we got it,&uot; said Fornwald.

Fornwald, the Blades’ usual starting goaltender, was confined to the bench by illness and did not play. Josh Heilman played the first two periods in the net, giving up four goals. Josh Gulbrandson, recruited from Albert Lea’s Sunday night league at the City Arena, played the third period and performed well, according to Fornwald.

The Blades, 3-0 in the league, improved to 6-0 overall. Austin fell to 0-2.

The Blades face Rochester Landon Trophy at Kasson Friday at 7 p.m.