AUSTIN &8212; Steve Falk and his Albert Lea girls&8217; hockey team knew it had to have its game against Northfield Friday in the Austin tournament.

Northfield had beaten the Tigers in the first game of the year, and as a section opponent Albert Lea knew it would struggle to get a better seed if it went 0-2 against the Raiders.

Albert Lea jumped out to a 1-0 first period lead and went on to claim the 3-1 win.

&8220;I think we are the better team but they got great goaltending in the first game so our goal was just to put a lot of shots on her,&8221; Albert Lea head coach Steve Falk said. &8220;We couldn&8217;t fall to 0-2 against them, and now if we meet them later on we have a chance for home ice.&8221;

The victory also put the Tigers into the consolation championship game against Fairmont.

Albert Lea struck first when Amy Gackstetter found the back of the net late in the first.

Kendra Ochefske would hold Northfield off the board for the first two periods and Gackstetter opened up the scoring in the third with her second score of the game.

Northfield would finally get on the board with a goal in the third, but Albert Lea outshot them 39-17 in the game.

Jenna Christensen would add the insurance goal late in the third to preserve the victory.

&8220;We got solid play from four lines and they were using just two so I think we were able to wear them down a little,&8221; said Falk. &8220;We played a tough team in Blaine Thursday, and we played well again despite a tight turnaround.&8221;