The Albert Lea Thunder continued to display an intensity Friday night against North Iowa at City Arena that has carried them to fourth place in the North American Hockey League’s Central Division and it once again guided Albert Lea past the Outlaws.

Albert Lea (18-31-5) scored two goals in the first 2 minutes and 10 seconds in the third period and later added two empty net goals as it rolled past the Outlaws 5-3 to pick up its sixth consecutive victory and fourth consecutive against North Iowa.

The win put the Thunder five points ahead of North Iowa (15-32-6) for the final playoff spot and gave Albert Lea some breathing room as it closes in on securing its first playoff appearance.

“It feels good,” said Thunder head coach Chuck Linkenheld. “I think we had to have it. One point ahead and five points ahead is a big difference. It’s some breathing room. We haven’t clinched, but it’s a nice feeling for sure.”

After a lackluster second period, Albert Lea didn’t leave anything to chance in the third.

Anthony Iaquinto took a pass from Blake Adams and put it into the net 22 seconds in the third period to put the Thunder ahead for good 2-1. A little less than two minutes later, Zach May snuck a shot past Outlaws goalie Paul Moberg to increase the lead to 3-1.

“The guys wanted it, there is no question.” Linkenheld said. “That was intensity, that was adrenaline and effort.”

North Iowa closed within one later in the third as Conner Gaarder put one past Albert Lea goalie Joe Rogers make it a 3-2 game.

With a little more than a minute left, North Iowa pulled its goalie and Anthony Iaquinto and Joe Kozlak notched empty net goals that sealed the 5-3 Albert Lea win.

While the Thunder were able to get the win, it still had to deal with a problem it has dealt with all season long — penalties.

Albert Lea committed 11 penalties as North Iowa went 1-for-7 on the power-play. Linkenheld knows going forward the penalties need to stop.

“I just told them how high are your standards,” Linkenheld said. “If your standards are set higher then you need to do a better job on taking penalties like that and keeping the momentum in the second period and third period. You need to play all three periods.”

The Thunder got the game’s first goal on a 3-on-2 break when Derek Docken tallied his fourth goal of the season in the first period. It was a period Albert Lea dominated shot-wise, outshooting the Outlaws 26-11.

Albert Lea continued to dominate North Iowa in shots, putting up 55 shots on goal for the night, while North Iowa blasted 38 shots on goal.

Linkenheld was pleased with the Thunder’s shot total, but not with the amount of shots the team gave up.

“Even though we had a lot of shots, I thought we gave up too many shots too.” Linkenheld said. “You can’t give uncontested shots and we gave too many uncontested shots as well.”

Linkenheld said Rogers provided the difference for Albert Lea.

Rogers recorded 35 saves on 38 shots, while also making some game-saving saves.

“I thought he was the player of the game,” Linkenheld said. “Because when we weren’t playing well, it made a big difference.”

The victory gave the Thunder more of a cushion in the standings, but with four of their past victories coming against an Outlaws team that has won once in its past 27 games. Linkenheld knows a better test comes Saturday against Owatonna.

“All I know is you got to play better than the other team every game.” Linkenheld said. “My worries right now are what we’re going to do tomorrow against Owatonna.”

Albert Lea 5, North Iowa 3

North Iowa 0 1 2 —3

Albert Lea 1 0 4 —5

First Period—1, Albert Lea, Derek Docken 4 (Brett Meyers, Zach May), 18:23. Penalties— Zach May, Alb (Tripping), 11:25; Ryan McElhone, Nor (Slashing), 11:47; Derek Docken, Alb (Interference), 15:37; Ryan McElhone, Nor (Elbowing), 16:07.

Second Period—2, North Iowa, Markus Gander 11 (Connor Gaarder), 10:13. (pp.)

Penalties—Colton Warner, Alb (Charging), 1:49; Ryan Bohrer, Nor (Hooking), 5:33; Niko Kapetanovic, Alb (Holding) , 9:57; Blake Adams, Alb (Tripping), 15:09; Zac Frischmon, Nor (Fighting Major), 17:02; Brad Phenow, Alb (Fighting Major), 17:02.

Third Period—3, Albert Lea, Anthony Iaquinto 11 (Blake Adams,Derek Docken), 0:22. 4, Albert Lea, Zach May 9 (Brett Meyers, Colton Warner), 2:09. 5, North Iowa, Connor Gaarder 12 (Robbie Anderegg), 16:39. 6, Albert Lea , Anthony Iaquinto 12 (Zack Moot, Derek Docken), 18:59. 7, Albert Lea, Joe Kozlak 2 (Derek Docken, Blake Adams), 19:25. 8, North Iowa, Zac Frischmon 7 (Ryan McElhone, Markus Gander), 19:51. Penalties— Colton Warner, Alb (Hooking), 5:08; Micky Knox, Nor (Third Man in Game Ejection), 11:12; Zach May, Alb (Unsportsmanlike Conduct), 11:12; Dane Shaugabay, Nor (Delay of game), 11:12; Colton Warner, Alb (Delay of game), 11:12; Zack Smoot, Alb (Interference), 16:31; Anthony Iaquinto, Alb (Game Misconduct), 18:59.

Shots on Goal—North Iowa 11-16-11—38. Albert Lea 23-17-15—55.

Power-play opportunities—North Iowa 1 of 7; Albert Lea 0 of 3.

Goalies—North Iowa, Paul Moberg 10-21-3 (55 shots-50 saves). Albert Lea, Joe Rogers 12-16-2 (38-35).

A—450. T—2:14.

Referee—Robert Lukkason. Linesmen—Nano Espenes, John McAfee.