The home opener for the Albert Lea Thunder turned into a dud Saturday night at the City Arena as the Thunder fell 5-2 to Owatonna.

In front of an announced crowd of 894 fans the Thunder showed its inexperience once again as the Express (2-4) scored three goals in the second period to grab a 4-1 lead that the Thunder couldn’t overcome.

“We’re having problems with our second period,” Albert Lea head coach Brad Zangs said. “This is a game that got away from us.”

Seven out of the 18 goals the Thunder (0-4-1) has allowed this season have come in the second period.

Owatonna went up 2-0 in the second period when Michael Palmiscno scored at the 6:17 mark on a 2-on-1. Albert Lea responded with a Mitch Torrel goal at the 7:52 mark, but the Express added two more goals in the period to grab a 4-1 lead. Stephen Carew scored to make the game 3-1 and Chris Bournazos scored on a 3-on-1 to give Owatonna a commanding lead.

“This is what happens with a young team, they make young mistakes,” Zangs said.

The Thunder was outshot 19-10 in the period after outshooting the Express 13-11 in the first but the odd-man rushes hurt Albert Lea.

“They got some odd-man rushes that they capitalized on, some mental errors on us,” Thunder defenseman Derek Docken said. “The second period definitely wasn’t our period.”

Owatonna finished the game with 44 shots while the Thunder had 29. Many of those shots were generated on the power play for the Express as Albert Lea gave up nine power play chances.

“We just got outworked,” Thunder forward Niko Kapetanovic said. “We match up well with that team and they took advantage.”

It’s all about experience right now for Albert Lea as the team has 14 players with 1990 birth years and that inexperience has led to a lot of mistakes early on.

“Once we get some more experience it should be fine,” Kapetanovic said. “A lot of people criticize now but it’s early.”

The offense for the Thunder looked improved and Mark Ellis got a goal in the third period but the team still had difficulty getting back into position when the Express rushed the zone.

“Every time we play a game they’re going to learn from it,” Zangs said. “They’re going to get the experience from it.”

1st 2nd 3rd Total

Owatonna – 1 3 1 5

Albert Lea – 0 1 1 2

GOAL SCORING:

1st period: Owatonna – John Kruse (Stephen Carew) 10:22

2nd period: Owatonna – Michael Palmiscno () 6:17

Albert Lea – Mitch Torrel (Brady Sand) 7:52

Owatonna – Stephen Carew (Troy Puente, Marian Fiala) 10:46

Owatonna – C.Bournazos (C.Thorson) 17:48

3rd period: Albert Lea – Mark Ellis (Tom Glomski, Nikita Featistov) 12:06

Owatonna – No. 21 (Chris Bournazos) 16:43

POWER-PLAY CONVERSION: Albert Lea – 0 for 3, Owatonna — 0 for 9

SHOTS ON GOAL: 1st 2nd 3rd Total

Owatonna 11 19 14 44 Albert Lea 13 10 6 29