The Albert Lea Tigers girls’ hockey team led 1-0 going into the third period Tuesday at Northfield, but the Raiders rallied with two goals, including the game-winner with three minutes to play.

“It was a heck of a game,” Albert Lea head coach Paul Willet said.

“It was up and down, and we played much better tonight than we did against Mankato East.”

The Tigers (0-2, 0-1 Big Nine) lost its season-opener Thursday to Mankato East 3-2 in overtime.

“We were much better in the defensive zone,” Willet said. “And we’re understanding the systems we’re trying to put into play.”

The Tigers got onto the scoreboard first in the second period on a power play goal from junior forward Mariah Leach.

The Raiders’ (1-0, 0-0 Missota) Hannah Pilger answered with a power play goal five minutes and 34 seconds into the third period.

Laine Fischer netted the game-winner less than eight minutes later at 13:14.

The Tigers had a 7-4 power play advantage, but were outshot 21-13.

Eighth-grader Sydney Conley had 18 saves for the Tigers.

“Conley played very well in the net and made some nice stops,” Willet said. “We received a good effort from everybody.”

The Tigers play at New Prague (0-1, 0-0) at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

“As long as we continue to get better every night out, we’ll be tough to beat in the second half of the season.”