Saturday likely provided some déj vu for the Albert Lea boys’ hockey team when it faced Red Wing in the Section 1A semifinals at the Rochester Rec Center.

Just like the first meeting the Tigers fell behind early and made a strong comeback, only to come up short once again in a 5-3, season-ending loss in the Section 1A playoffs.

Albert Lea (18-9-0 overall) fell behind early to the No. 10-ranked Wingers when Josh Mensing connected on a blast from the point to give No. 1 seed, Red Wing, a power-play goal 9 minutes, 40 seconds into the first period.

The Tigers faced 1-0 deficit after the first, but it could have been worse. Albert Lea killed off three other penalties in the period and was outshot 14-3. The Tigers didn’t record their first shot on goal until 8:22 and it came on a shorthanded opportunity.

The second period started in much the same manner for fourth seeded Albert Lea when Blake Adams was whistled for tripping 15 seconds into the period, but the Tigers continued to play well on the penalty kill and killed off Adams penalty and a Tyler Prihoda hooking penalty.

Red Wing’s Mark Giorgi grabbed a loose puck near the Albert Lea blue line and skated in to score at 5:07 to give the Wingers a 2-0 lead and it was beginning to look like the beginning of the end for the Tigers.

Albert Lea finally found its rhythm in the second period and Tyler Brackey came through with his second goal in as many games to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:14 and the Tigers had new life.

Just 48 seconds after Brackey’s goal Dillon Stolt tied the game up at 2 and Albert Lea gained some traction in the game to enter the second intermission with the momentum.

“We came back strong,” said Tigers head coach Roy Nystrom. “We finally started to skate, I think that’s the secret. I thought we were very tentative in the first period. In the second period once we scored that first goal we came out strong and we started to pick up the pace and we had them on the run. The second period we had a lot of rhythm going.

“It’s like I told the boys between the second and third period, we have the momentum now, but in a game like this it could change awful fast.”

The momentum did shift quickly back to Red Wing (21-7-0 overall) in the third period when Wingers standout Blake Schammel scored at 3:22 to regain the lead.

Red Wing took control of the third period and dominated the majority of the period save for a late goal by Tyler Prihoda which made the game 4-3 with 41 seconds to play.

The early penalties caught up with the Tigers in the third period and the depth and talent of Red Wing overpowered Albert Lea in the final period.

“Red Wing’s a deep team, they’re a good team and they play solid defense and that’s the sign of a real good team,” said senior captain Mike Falk. “I think Red Wing has all the makings of a real good team.”

The Wingers took advantage of Tiger mistakes throughout the game – intercepting errant passes and turning them into scoring opportunities and forcing Albert Lea into mistakes in its own end with their forecheck.

“Let’s face it, their team has a lot of talent and they forced us into making some mistakes, but we forced them into some mistakes, too, especially after the first period,” Nystrom said. “You can sit and analyze it for a year, it’s still going to come out 5 to 3.”

The Tigers lose eight seniors from a team that turned some heads during the season. After losing some talented players from last year’s 21-6 team the expectations were modest for Albert Lea, but the Tigers became a blue-collar team that worked its way to a share of their first Big Nine Conference title since 1993-94.

“It’s tough looking back on it right now, but I’m sure in hindsight I’m going to look at it as a successful year,” Falk said. “We played through adversity, people never thought we’d even be a top five seed in the section, not many people even picked us to get by West. I’m absolutely proud of the guys and I don’t think we have any regrets.”

It was certainly a memorable year for the team with Nystrom earning his 600th career win, a conference championship and another appearance in the semifinals.

Red Wing 5, Albert Lea 3

Albert Lea 0 2 1 – 3

Red Wing 1 2 2 – 5

First period— 1, Red Wing, Josh Mensing (George Noesen, Blake Schammel), 9:40 (pp.). Penalties— Jordan Prescher-Smerud, AL, (tripping), 3:14; Taylor Draayer, AL, (hooking), 7:37; Prescher-Smerud, AL, (boarding), 8:52; Dan Daquisto, RW, (slashing), 9:53; Grant Stadheim, AL, (hooking), 12:50; Schammel, RW, (slashing), 14:13.

Second period— 2, Red Wing, Mark Giorgi (Jared Nelson), 5:07. 3, Albert Lea, Tyler Brackey (Mitchell Sorenson), 6:14. 4, Albert Lea, Dillon Stolt (Blake Adams, Eric Carlson), 7:02. Penalties— Adams, AL, (tripping), 0:15; Prihoda, AL, (hooking), 9:32.

Third period— 5, Red Wing, Blake Schammel (Josh Mensing, Patrick Noesen), 3:22. 6, Red Wing, Patrick Noesen (Mensing), 9:19. 7, Albert Lea, Tyler Prihoda (Stadheim), 16:19. 8, Red Wing, Schammel (unassisted), 16:42 (en.).

Shots on goal— Albert Lea 4-11-5 – 20. Red Wing 13-11-8 – 32.

Power-play opportunities— Albert Lea 0 of 2. Red Wing 1 of 6.

Goalies— Albert Lea, John Wrolson (31 shots, 27 saves). Red Wing, Sam Amendolar (20 shots, 17 saves).