The Albert Lea Union Center A PeeWees hockey team advanced to the region tournament at Marshall this weekend with a second-place finish in last weekend’s district tournament at Faribault.

As the No. 2 seed from District 4, Albert Lea will compete against the top four teams from District 5 for a berth in the state tournament. Only the champion from the region tourney advances.

At district, the locals opened with resounding 6-0 shutout of St. Peter, outshooting the opponents 44-10.

The win advanced Albert Lea to the semifinals against top-seeded New Ulm, a team the locals did not face this season, and they handed New Ulm a 5-2 setback.

&uot;We knew going in that they had a very strong team,&uot; said Albert Lea head coach Darris Porter. &uot;But our kids had a great team effort to move on to the championship.&uot;

Albert Lea outshot New Ulm 24-12.

In the championship round Albert Lea lost 7-4 to Mankato, the No. 1 seed from the East Division.

The locals started slow, falling behind 5-0 at the end of the first period.

&uot;We got caught back on our heels in the first period and could not dig ourselves out of a huge hole,&uot; said Porter. &uot;But we came back in the last two periods and outplayed and outscored Mankato 4-2. The kids played eight out of nine very solid periods of hockey.&uot;

Coach Porter also praised the squad for its progress.

&uot;This team has developed into a very solid hockey team,&uot; said Porter. &uot;And, with some more hard work in these upcoming practice before region and a little luck, you just never know.&uot;