The Albert Lea girls’ hockey team was unable to overcome four goals by Rochester Century in the second period Saturday night at the Albert Lea City Arena.

The Tigers scored first, but the Panthers reeled off six straight goals, three by Katie Aney and three by Jessie Aney.

“They’ve got two outstanding players in the Aney sisters,” said Albert Lea head coach Paul Willett. “We attempted to shadow them the best we could, but they made a couple great plays and put pucks in the back of the net.”

Albert Lea fought back 2 minutes and 12 seconds into the third period with a goal by Hannah Savelkoul to make the score 6-2. However, the Panthers tacked on two more goals late in the game to preserve the win.

In the first period, Rochester Century out-shot Albert Lea 8-3 but clung to a one-goal lead. The Panthers out-shot the Tigers 17-3 in the second period, and Albert Lea out-shot Rochester Century 10-7 in the final period.

Katie Schwartz played in the net the duration of the game for Albert Lea. She made 24 saves out of 32 shots on goal.

A tough schedule has greeted the Tigers out of the gate.

“I don’t believe in making excuses, but we opened up the season with the toughest stretch of our schedule, and we’re only going to get better from it,” Willett said. “As the season wears on, this is going to benefit our hockey team and it’s going to help us win games down the road.”

The Tigers (1-4 overall, 1-1 Big Nine) will play next at Mankato East at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

“I’m very enthusiastic about what we’ve got going forward,” Willett said. “The kids are working hard, and the young players are getting up to speed.”

Rochester Century 8, Albert Lea 2

RC   2   4   2  —  8

AL   1   0   1  —  2