While the temperatures outside continued to drop, the Albert Lea Tigers boys’ hockey team’s play is just starting to heat up.

The Tigers (11-6, 4-2 Big Nine) won two out of their last three games entering Thursday as they hosted the Owatonna Huskies (5-12, 2-6) at City Arena.

The Tigers’ Eric Carlson recorded a hat trick with three goals and added an assist as the Albert Lea defeated the Huskies 8-2.

Along with eight goals, the Tigers’ offense also cranked out 54 shots on goal.

“We definitely had them on the run for the most part,” Tigers head coach Roy Nystrom said. “They fought and scrapped, but we played hard for the win.”

Albert Lea drew first blood at the 4 minute and 15 second mark when Dillon Stolt scored a goal on a pass from Levi Hacker to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Owatonna answered back as the Huskies scored two goals over 23 seconds to take a 2-1 lead after the first period.

In the second period, the Tigers tied the game at 2-2 when Nathan Stadheim found the back of the net on a pass from Luke Cheever.

With the game tied, that’s when Carlson took over.

Carlson scored two unassisted goals over a 20-second stretch to give Albert Lea a 4-2 lead with 3:13 remaining in the second period.

Carlson’s first goal came at the 13:36 mark when he poked the puck free from an Owatonna defender and rushed up the ice on a breakaway and put the puck past a sprawling Luke Ebeling.

Then at 13:57, Carlson scored his second goal with a nifty move on a Huskies defender and then skated in on goal and put the puck past the Owatonna goaltender.

The score remained 4-2 until the third period.

In the third, Stolt scored his second goal of the game on a pass from J.T. Bellrichard to push the lead out to 5-2.

Less than two minutes later, Adam Herbst tallied a goal on a pass from Carlson to give the Tigers a 6-2 lead.

The Tigers then scored again at the 14:22 mark, when Owatonna was on the power play and pulled their goalie to create a six on four advantage and Hacker tallied a short-handed goal to give Albert Lea a 7-2 lead.

Two minutes later, Albert Lea again scored a short-handed goal as Carlson scored his third goal of the night to give the Tigers an 8-2 victory.

“He’s very opportunistic,” Nystrom said, of Carlson. “He definitely made the most of his opportunities tonight.”

Griffin Wangen earned the win in net for Albert Lea as he recorded 16 saves on 18 shots.

The Tigers take the ice again on Tuesday as they host the Winona Winhawks.