FARIBAULT &045; The flu bug hit the Albert Lea High School boys’ hockey team hard this week, knocking five starters out of Tuesday’s Big Nine game at Faribault.

The remaining Tigers &045; with a little help from some junior varsity call-ups &045; made sure it didn’t cost them a victory.

After a slow start, Albert Lea rallied from a 2-1 first-period deficit and won 7-3.

&uot;We had a real iron-man performance by the guys that played tonight,&uot; said ALHS coach Roy Nystrom. &uot;We brought up three players from the junior varsity to fill in, and they did very well.&uot;

One of the three, Beau Larson, did especially well, scoring two goals while assisting on another. The others, Ben Meillier and Peter Bracker, had one assist apiece.

Nystrom also praised play of defensemen Josh Tubbs, Dustin Trail and Adam Wacholz, who basically rotated the entire game.

The Tigers trailed 2-1 at the end of the first period, with Casey Schumaker scoring for Albert Lea on assists from Tubbs and Bracker.

Trail, Larson and Tubbs scored in the second as Albert Lea took a 4-3 lead into the third. Assisting on the goals were Dan Breuer, Schumaker, Adam Boelter and Egan Mattson.

Mattson, Breuer and Larson scored in the third, with assists going to Boelter, Larson, Trail and Meillier.

Matt Tubbs was in goal for Albert Lea, which outshot Faribault 32-12. Each team had two penalties.

&uot;We were on our game pretty much tonight, and we really worked hard,&uot; said Nystrom. &uot;I’m real proud of the kids.&uot;

The Tigers improved to 6-5 in the Big Nine and 10-9 overall. They host Rochester Mayo in a Big Nine game Thursday at the City Arena.